The Duel Monster Wars Episode 1
by DonRoyale
Summary: The triumphant three-year hiatus is over; it's back and formatted better. Follow the journey of a scorned son of fate as he intertwines himself with the fate of the Pharaoh and finds himself fighting to save the world from evil. Please, read and review!
1. Prologue

The Duel Monster Wars

The Duel Monster Wars

Author's Notes: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! I do, however, own all non-franchised characters and the ideas of all the cards I made up for this series. As good as you might find some of them, I ask that you not take these ideas without my permission…I worked hard to make some of these cards…

--

The legend states…  
The seven Millennium Items were created by the gods to contain the evils of the world. Those items were found and are now under the control of mortal beings.

However, what those mortals don't know is that wayward spirits tend to…attach themselves to the Millennium Items.

One such mortal figured out the way to use this fact to his advantage, and sealed the souls of the ancient into the Millennium Items. However, there was a problem. Not only did the souls reject certain Millennium Items, but there were 10 such souls, not enough to fit into the seven Millennium Items. The ancients decided to create items which housed these souls, and called them Shadow Items. The Shadow Items, though not as powerful as some of the Millennium Items, all possessed wisdom and information beyond the comprehension of any of the wisest of mortal humans, for the souls have seen all that has occurred in the 5,000 years that have passed.

This is the story of one of the mortals who came into possession of a Shadow Item. A man pure in heart, living up to the legacy of his family, one dedicated to the study of the Shadow Games…

--

"Sir…I'm sorry."

He stood there as if it was his fault that it had happened. "Don't blame yourself." I said, sighing. "I just feel bad for being unable to stop him. Now, if you don't mind…" I took out my deck, fiddling around with it. "I have to figure out a way to get revenge."

"Well, why not challenge him to a duel? I'm sure he'll be able to explain why he put your father in the state he's in." He asked it in a way that belittled me.

"You don't need to state the obvious…" I retorted. "I will find him…and I'll make him pay…"

"Yes, sir. Would you like us to locate him for you, or—"

"No." I cut him off; he'd been treating me like a child in this conversation for long enough. "I would much prefer the prospect of finding him myself."

"As you wish, sir." he said, bowing in respect. He then gulped, adding a reprieving "Good…luck…"

Ignoring his wish, I collected my deck, and headed over to the card factory.

"I'm positive these cards will guide me to victory…" I said to myself. I made a print order for all of my new cards, and as they finished, I took them, readjusted my deck, and then left.

--

Will the mystery duelist with a passion for (so far) unexplained revenge be able to incur his wrath upon the one he's looking for?

What is the duelist's motives?

Who is his father, and what happened to him?

Find out, in the next chapter!


	2. A Family Affair

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Author's Notes: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! I do, however, own all non-franchised characters and the ideas of all the cards I made up for this series. As good as you might find some of them, I ask that you not take these ideas without my permission…I worked hard to make some of these cards…

--

I had been roaming Domino City on my bike for what seemed like ages now. I mean, he stands out like a sore thumb, what with his giant, colorful hair and all. One would think I'd be able to easily locate someone like that. However, I had no such luck.

I decided to stop at the corporation of a good friend of mine. Perhaps he'd be able to help me locate him.

"Excuse me, sir, I'm afraid this part of the building is for employees only, and—"

He was cut off by a figure that emerged from the door. "Greetings…Scott."

"Seto Kaiba…" I said, with a tone that showed respect to the man's reputation. He stood there, with his new white and black getup, his brother Mokuba standing next to him. "Despite all that's happened, it's good to see you once again…"

"Save it, Scott." he replied. "Your father has put my family through enough misery."

"Is that how you're going to address someone who had nothing to do with the events that took place during Duelist Kingdom?" I asked, annoyed with the fact that I was forced to remind him that I still put friendship over my father's then-twisted view of business.

"I suppose. You never even bat an eye to your father's crazy scheme to revive your mother from the dead."

"My family matters are beyond the point." I said. "My father's in critical condition; the doctors said that he's going to make it, but it will be a while before he'll be able to promote Duel Monsters tournaments again. Now…I need your help."

"I'm about to launch my own Duel Monsters tournament." he replied, ignoring my request for help. "I just have to put the finishing touches on it before I release the details to the public. Are you interested?"

"If it will get me a duel with Yugi, then fine." I said. "Anything to avenge my father…"

"Pegasus was a lunatic." he laughed. "But, I imagine you don't know or care about the fiasco that was Duelist Kingdom."

"You'd be correct." I said. "I don't know, nor do I care to know what happened on that island. This is strictly a duty I must fulfill to my father…"

"I was expecting that answer…" he replied. "However, I interrupted you. You said you wanted a favor? What is it?"

"I wish to find Yugi." I replied. "Where is he?"

He stood there silently for a moment. It was Mokuba who spoke up first. "Seto, we have to hurry, or we'll be late to the simulations to test your new card!"

"Hmm…Scott, how about I make you win the information?" He extended a strange bracelet on his arm that folded out. "Like it? It's my new Duel Disk technology."

"A challenge? Using your newest simulation technology?" I was intrigued by the offer. "How can I resist?"

"Here…" He handed me my very own Duel Disk. "We'll duel using my new rules system. We both start out with 4000 Life Points instead of 2000, and any monster that has 5 stars or more requires a sacrifice, with monsters of level 7 or higher requiring two sacrifices!"

I took my place an adequate distance away from him. "Got it."

"Duel!" we both shouted.

Scott: 4000 L.P.  
Kaiba: 4000 L.P.

--

Will Scott manage to defeat Kaiba and learn Yugi's location?

What is Kaiba trying to test?

Why does Scott want revenge on Yugi for what happened to his father, Maxamillion Pegasus?

Find out…in the next chapter!


	3. The Duel Of Dragons

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Author's Notes: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! I do, however, own all non-franchised characters and the ideas of all the cards I made up for this series. As good as you might find some of them, I ask that you not take these ideas without my permission…I worked hard to make some of these cards…

--

"I'll go first." I said. I drew six cards from my deck; the standard opening hand. Looking over my cards, I eventually made a choice. "Go, Wyvern Dragon!" I placed the monster on the monster section of the Duel Disk in face-up Attack Mode. A white dragon with a long hook for a nose and gilded wings appeared. To intimidate Kaiba, it spread its wings and claws out, and roared fiercely, then it settled in a position, ready to pounce on Kaiba.

Wyvern Dragon  
LIGHT

Dragon/Effect  
ATK: 1700  
DEF: 700  
If this monster destroys an opponent's monster in battle, it can attack once again in a row. This card cannot attack a player directly.

"I then set one card face-down!" I said, inserting a non-monster card into my spell/trap zone face-down. The image of a face-down card appeared on the field, behind my Dragon. "That ends my turn."

"All right!" He drew a card from his deck. "I summon Spear Dragon in Attack Mode!"

Spear Dragon  
WIND

Dragon/Effect

ATK: 1900  
DEF: 0  
During battle between this attacking card and an opponent's Defense Position monster, if the ATK of this card exceeds the DEF of the opponent's monster, inflict the difference as Battle Damage to your opponent. After this card attacks, it is changed to Defense Position at the end of the Battle Phase.

The blue dragon spread its wings open as Kaiba declared, "I then activate the Spell Card, Stamping Destruction!"

Stamping Destruction  
Spell/Normal  
Activate only when there is a face-up Dragon-Type monster on your side of the field. Destroy one Spell or Trap Card on the field, and inflict 500 damage to the controller of the Spell or Trap Card.

"Stamping Destruction lets my Spear Dragon destroy one of your Spell or Trap Cards. I'll destroy your face-down card!"

Spear Dragon took flight, aiming its spear-shaped beak at my face-down card. However, given the opportunity, I wasn't about to let something like this go to waste.

"Go, Flute of Calling Dragon!" I pushed the button on my Duel Disk to activate my face-down card as Kaiba was about to destroy it.

Flute Of Calling Dragon  
Spell/Quick-Play  
Tribute 1 Dragon-Type monster on your side of the field. Special Summon from your hand or Deck a Dragon-Type monster that is 1 Level higher than the Tributed monster.

"By sacrificing my Wyvern Dragon, I can summon my Cobalt Dragon from my Deck!"

A flute appeared from the card I had just revealed. It emitted a sound wave that shattered my Wyvern Dragon, and a different Dragon appeared in place of the flute, taking a defensive stance.

Cobalt Dragon  
DARK

Dragon/Effect  
ATK: 2300  
DEF: 1400  
The effect of a Spell, Trap, or Effect Monster Card that targets this face-up Defense Position monster is negated by changing this card to Attack Position. When this face-up Defense Position monster is attacked by an opponent's monster, change it to Attack Position before damage calculation.

"You're summoning a Dragon which has more attack power than my Spear Dragon in Defense Mode?" he asked mockingly. "Suit yourself, but remember, if my Spear Dragon attacks a monster in Defense Mode, you still take damage! So, Spear Dragon, attack his Cobalt Dragon!"

"Not so fast, Kaiba!" I yelled. "The effect of my Cobalt Dragon kicks in. Since you attacked it, it now changes to Attack Mode before the attack goes through! And it's too late to call the attack off!"

"!!"

As Spear Dragon took to the skies, again diving with its spear pointing at my Cobalt Dragon, my Cobalt Dragon caught the spear in its hand, and crushed the spear, shattering his Spear Dragon.

Kaiba: 3700 L.P.  
Scott: 4000 L.P.

"Ugh!" he grunted. "Well, I'll end my turn by setting one card face-down."

"All right, my turn!" I drew a card. What a card I drew; exactly what I needed. "I summon my Summoner Dragon in Attack Mode!"

Summoner Dragon  
WIND

Dragon/Effect  
ATK: 1200  
DEF: 600  
Once per turn, during your Main Phase, you are allowed an extra Normal Summon or Set of a Dragon-Type monster.

"My Summoner Dragon allows me to summon whatever Dragon I like from my hand. So, with that being said, I'll sacrifice my Summoner Dragon and my Cobalt Dragon to summon a monster I made with you in mind!"

A gust of wind engulfed both of my dragons, devouring and destroying them. A giant grey-colored dragon with black eyes and a long tail appeared.

"Meet, the Black-Eyes Gray Dragon!"

Black-Eyes Gray Dragon  
DARK

Dragon  
ATK: 2900  
DEF: 2400  
_A mythical creature who, despite his legend, must live in the shadow of more powerful dragons. Its deep-seated envy of its former compadrés turned its eyes black._

"How do you like that?" I asked triumphantly.

"Impressive…a monster who bears an eerie resemblance to Blue-Eyes…"

"Now, Black-Eyes Gray Dragon, attack with Dark Incineration!"

The Black-Eyes Gray Dragon hurled a giant ball of black flames from its mouth. However, Kaiba seemed unfazed.

"I activate…" His face-down card was revealed; a trap. "Negate Attack!"

Negate Attack (unsure on this one :S)  
Trap/Counter  
Activate only when your opponent declares an attack. The attack is negated, and your opponent's Battle Phase ends.

A typhoon of energy burst out of his card. The energy devoured my dragon's attack.

"Darn…" I said. Having that attack connect would have given me a good enough lead to defeat Kaiba for sure. "You may have negated my attack, Kaiba, but I still control a monster with far greater power than any monster you can play in one turn. If you don't do something fast, you're doomed and you know it!"

"Humph, keep telling yourself that." he retorted. However, a gland of sweat formed on the side of his face, which spoke for him.

"I'll play one card face-down and end my turn." I said.

--

Will Scott's Black-Eyes Gray Dragon be able to bring him victory? Or does Kaiba have a secret weapon under his sleeve?

Just what is it that Kaiba wanted to test? Could there be a card he has that can overcome whatever Scott has planned?

Find out…next chapter!


	4. The Test Of Power

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Author's Notes: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! I do, however, own all non-franchised characters and the ideas of all the cards I made up for this series. As good as you might find some of them, I ask that you not take these ideas without my permission…I worked hard to make some of these cards…

--

"All right, my turn!" Kaiba drew a card. He then smirked. "I'll set a monster face-down, then end my turn." A face-down monster appeared on his side of the field.

"You'll need a strong defense to be able to hold off my Dragon!" I said as I drew a card. "Perfect. This duel is over! Meet my Twinlance Dragon!" I placed the card in Attack Mode on my side of the field. A green dragon holding two jousting lances appeared on the field.

Twinlance Dragon  
WIND

Dragon/Effect  
ATK: 1200  
DEF: 400  
This card can attack twice in the same Battle Phase. During battle between this attacking card and an opponent's Defense Position monster, if the ATK of this card exceeds the DEF of the opponent's monster, inflict the difference as Battle Damage to your opponent.

"My Twinlance Dragon not only attacks twice, but can still do damage even if your monster is in Defense Mode! Now, Twinlance Dragon, attack his face-down monster!"

Twinlance Dragon lunged in on Kaiba's monster, skewering it with its lance. However, the card appeared, impaled in Twinlance Dragon's spear; Cyber Jar.

Cyber Jar  
DARK

Rock/Effect  
ATK: 900  
DEF: 900  
FLIP: Destroy all monsters on the field. Both players then pick up (not draw) the top five cards from their Deck. Any monsters of Level 4 or lower are Special Summoned to the owner's side of the field in face-up Attack Position or face-down Defense Position. All other cards are added to the players' hands.

Cyber Jar then exploded, destroying Twinlance Dragon and my Black-Eyes Gray Dragon.

Kaiba: 3400 L.P.  
Scott: 4000 L.P.

"Now, the both of us pick up 5 cards, and any monsters that can be summoned without sacrifice are put into play immediately!" he said.

The both of us picked up five cards from our decks. I got three Spell or Trap Cards, another Black-Eyes Gray Dragon, and one summonable monster.

"I summon one monster face-down." I placed the monster that I was able to summon in face-down Defense Mode.

"Well, aren't I lucky! I got four monsters!" He summoned four monsters, but they were all face-down.

"So, you got a good defense, so what!" I retorted. "Now, for my Main Phase 2! Activate Monster Reborn! I'll revive my Summoner Dragon, then use its effect to sacrifice itself and my face-down monster to summon another Black-Eyes Gray Dragon!"

"!!"

The symbol of Monster Reborn appeared, reviving Summoner Dragon. Immediately, he and my face-down monster were engulfed by the winds of sacrifice, and another Black-Eyes appeared.

"It's too bad I can't fry your monsters to a crisp, but I have to end my turn."

"I draw!" He drew his card, and gasped in awe. "Well, it's been fun, but I win!"

"How could you possibly have won?" I asked. "I still have 4000 Life Points!"

Ignoring me, he began his turn. "I activate Monster Reborn!" The symbol of Monster Reborn appeared. "I'll use the effect of Monster Reborn to revive your Black-Eyes Gray Dragon under my control!"

I gasped. If he had a combined 4000 attack points with his face-down monsters, it was game over for me.

However, he had a different idea. "Now, for the card I wanted to test. I sacrifice three of my face-down monsters to summon my ultimate creature!" As the winds of sacrifice engulfed his monsters, clouds began to form overhead.

"Three sacrifices? What monster requires three sacrifices?"

"I summon…Obelisk the Tormentor!"

Lightning struck the field as the massive Obelisk stormed the field.

"!!" I gasped in awe at the size and power of this massive monster.

Obelisk The Tormentor  
DIVINE

omfgegyptiangodcard / obvhaspwnsomeeffect  
ATK: 4000  
DEF: 4000

This card can only be Tribute Summoned by Tributing 3 monsters on your side of the field. This card is unaffected by Trap Cards, and the effects of any Spell Card only work on this card for one turn. Tribute two monsters on your side of the field to destroy all monsters on your opponent's side of the field and inflict 4000 damage to your opponent. (unsure on this) If you activate this effect, you cannot conduct your Battle Phase this turn.

"Now, I then sacrifice your Black-Eyes and my other face-down monster!"

Obelisk took hold of my Black-Eyes and Kaiba's face-down monster, crushing them both.

"Now, Obelisk, end this with Fist of Fate!"

The sacrifices caused Obelisk's fist to glow. He used that power to take a swing at my Black-Eyes, shattering it to pieces.

Kaiba: 3400 L.P.  
Scott: 0 L.P.

"I win."

"Ugh!" I said. "That thing…what…was it?"

"That was an Egyptian God card…" Kaiba explained. "It was given to me by a strange woman who wanted me to start a tournament to attract skill to the city, and promote my company. Why she gave me such a powerful card is beyond me, but…I'm not complaining."

"Well…what a powerful card." I said. "It's no wonder you beat me…"

All of a sudden, I felt something overcoming me. Strange images filled my head, but I was able to clearly make out one of them-a tablet with four figures on it.

"Scott!" Kaiba yelled, catching me before I fell to the ground.

I jumped to my feet, unsure of what happened. "Ack, my head…"

"What happened?" Kaiba asked.

"I just saw the image of a strange tablet pop up in my head…" I said.

"A strange tablet?" he asked. "You mean like the one at the Domino City museum?"

"There's a tablet at the museum?" I asked. "I have to check it out; this could have some connection to the Egyptian Gods, and perhaps, Father…"

"What about Yugi?" he said.

"I don't know why, but I feel compelled to make this my priority. I have to investigate into this further, starting with the museum." I hopped on my bike, putting on my helmet. "But will you tell me where Yugi is, since I helped you test out Obelisk?"

"Sure. He lives in his grandfather's game shop in the eastern district of the city. You can't miss it."

"Thank you, Kaiba. Take care of Obelisk…" I said. "I have a feeling a card that powerful will attract a lot of people who want to possess it."

I sped off into the distance, heading towards the museum.

--

"Sir. We've spotted someone who used Obelisk the Tormentor in a duel?"

He sat there on his chair, silent for a moment until he finally said, "Have you identified him?"

"Yes, sir…Seto Kaiba."

"So, Ishizu entrusted Obelisk to a fool like Kaiba. Kaiba doesn't understand how to handle the power he has…It's a good thing I'm sending that wretched son of Pegasus' to find the last key to the puzzle…then, I'll put him and the Pharaoh out of commission, and the world will be mine!" He laughed maniacally.

"What are your orders, sir?"

"Dispatch the Rare Hunters. Battle City begins soon; I want all of the Rare Hunters out there, finding the Pharaoh. He cannot interrupt us, for Scott and Kaiba are integral to our plans."

"I understand, sir." The man then faded into the shadows.

"It's too bad I can't control the minds of either of those fools…Scott has fate on his side, and Kaiba has my sister on his. Bah, I could care less; they will need all that they can get to be able to defeat me."

--

What is Marik planning with Scott?

What caused Scott to have the revelation that he had?

What did Marik mean by "Scott has fate on his side?"

Will I ever stop asking you questions that look like they could have an essay made out of them?

Find out…next chapter!


	5. The Trip To The Museum

I don't know what it was that had compelled me to head to the museum, but nonetheless, I answered the call and headed over the

I don't know what it was that had compelled me to head to the museum, but nonetheless, I answered the call and headed over there anyway.

Upon arrival, I saw a strange woman there. The one thing I noticed was the fact that she wore a Millennium Item.

"Greetings." the woman said.

"Uhh…hi." I replied. I looked around to see if anything caught my attention. Tablets everywhere, ancient artifacts that looked like legendary Egyptian figures.

"I can see it through the eyes of my Millennium Tauk," she began. "You have been summoned here by the force of the ancients."

"The…what?" I asked. "That would make sense…I'm not sure why I'm exactly here."

"You have been chosen by the gods of Egypt…" she began. "chosen to wield their greatest secret…"

My head began to throb. I was experiencing an unbelievable amount of pain, and my body began moving on its own. I felt a rush overtake my entire body, and before I knew it, I had lost control of myself.

"Greetings, sister…" a deformed voice said.

"!!"

"I just thought I'd take the opportunity to warn you both…I too possess the power of the ancients, and even if this young man has been chosen to possess that power, by the time he's figured out how to use it, it will have been too late, as I will have killed him by then!"

"Marik…you don't even have control of the spirit locked in your item! Don't fool yourself!" she said.

"Like that matters." said the voice, apparently belonging to a man named Marik. "I will defeat the Pharaoh, possess the Egyptian God Cards, and use them to destroy the spirits locked inside the Shadow Items!"

"Your ambitions are insane, Marik." Marik's sister replied. "You'll never be able to destroy the spirits of the Shadow Items before the one locked inside your own destroys you!"

"Once I control the power of the Egyptian God Cards, it doesn't matter! Not even the Pharaoh will be able to stop me. You were a fool for giving Obelisk to Kaiba, Ishizu!"

All of a sudden, the rush of power that had taken control of me had faded away, but it had taken all the energy in my body to suppress it from destroying my consciousness, so I didn't have enough to retain it.

"Marik!" Ishizu yelled before I passed out.


	6. The Legend Of The Shadow Items

When I awoke, I was in a strange, dark room, on a bed

When I awoke, I was in a strange, dark room, on a bed. (Author's Note: Ishizu DID NOT RAPE SCOTT. XP)

"…We must act fast." I heard Ishizu's voice in the distance.

I jumped out of the bed, asking her, "What happened?"

Ignoring me, she continued. "My brother, Marik, is trying to destroy the spirits locked in ten legendary artifacts. You are one of the ten chosen individuals who was fated to wield one of these ten blessed items."

"Me? What are these items?"

"5000 years ago, Egypt waged wars with creatures they commanded through tablets. The gods chose seven wise sages to govern this power by infusing power into seven Millennium Items to kill those who misused the power. The problem was, there were those who stole that power from the sages, and used it to cause countless amounts of suffering. The gods decided to put the Shadow Games to rest by fusing the spirits of 10 of the wisest, the most powerful, and the most wicked spirits, inside ten powerful artifacts. These artifacts were called the Shadow Items."

"So, what you're saying is, one of the spirits locked in one of these artifacts chose me to be brought into your 'fated fight' with your brother?"

"I suppose you could say that." Ishizu replied. "However, you seem annoyed with the fate you've been given. Most would be proud to inherit such a power."

"I'm not a hero." I replied. "Besides, I'm on a mission."

"And what would that be?" she asked.

"I'm sure you've heard of Yugi Moto. He stole my father's Millennium Eye, and I'm getting it back one way or another."

"You're after the Pharaoh?" she asked. She then stayed silent, looking away. "Then I can help you. Come with me."

At this point, I had little choice. I followed her to a safe behind the room.

She opened the safe before speaking up. "I brought the remaining Shadow Items with me incase I found one of the chosen ones." She then looked at me with a cold, stern look on her face. "I suppose I was lucky."

She led me inside the safe, which contained a mess of artifacts that all looked quite valuable. The one she took stood out to me.

"These…are the Millennium Gauntlets."

She showed me a pair of golden gloves that had holes to fit the fingers through. Each had the Eye of Horus on them.

"I see. What would you like me to do with these?"

"You are destined to possess them." she replied. "Take them, and use them to ensure that my brother does not succeed in his mission to destroy the spirit inside of it."

"I understand." I said.

"Also…" She reached through her artifacts, and extracted a box with the Eye Of Horus on the top. Opening it, she extracted the card inside of it. "Take this…" She handed the card to me.

"What is this?"

"Certain spirits locked inside the Millennium Items were given the power to control one of the ancient deities. This is one of those deities; The Arbiter-Solencio."

"Is this…?"

"After my family learned of the legend of the Shadow Items, it began to crumble. My brother was given the Millennium Rod, another Shadow Item, and it all went wrong…my brother was consumed by the Millennium Rod's spirit, and one of our tomb guarders had to watch over him to ensure that spirit wasn't released to destroy the other spirits. He's beginning with the most powerful spirit out there; the Pharaoh, housed in Yugi's Millennium Puzzle."

"What does that have to do with this card?" I asked.

"After my brother and his guardian left and formed the Rare Hunters, word passed of the Egyptian God Cards. I fooled my brother into thinking there were only three…but there are far more than that. You see, when your father, Maxamillion Pegasus, created Duel Monsters, he had already intensely studied the Shadow Games. He knew the power of the deities, and decided to only create a few of them, in fear of the immense power they had. Just as the Gauntlets chose you, I trust your skill, and the spirit housed inside the Gauntlets will know the power you are wielding and effectively guide you to victory. Good luck, Scott…"

"Thank you, Ishizu." I took the card and the Gauntlets. As soon as I put my hands on the Gauntlets, a strange feeling enveloped me. Not only was I purified of the groggy feeling I'd been feeling from the aftermath of having my mind controlled, but I felt…a presence.

I slipped the Gauntlets on as I walked out.

"So, you're the one who the tomb-keeping clan chose to be my vessel?" said a strange voice.

"Huh?" I looked around. Nobody was there.

"I am the spirit housed inside of the Gauntlets." he said. "I'm an experienced fighter from my time, so I suppose I can help wage the war against evil, even if it's 5000 years later."

"Look." I said. "I'll help Ishizu fight against the spirit of the Millennium Rod, but don't get me wrong. My goals come first."

"I heard; you want your revenge on the Pharaoh, right?" he asked. He then chuckled. "How exciting; I want to meet the Pharaoh myself! Please, let's head over right away!"

I was taken aback by his…energy, but nonetheless, he complied with my goals, which I couldn't help but respect. However, it was already dark outside.

"It's time to head back home…I'll exact my revenge on Yugi then."

I turned my back to the direction of Yugi's house, heading towards the main plaza of Domino City. I stopped my bike as I saw Kaiba's face on the projectors.

"Greetings, duelists!" he said with that usual tone of arrogance he had. "I just thought I'd drop in to inform you that I've decided to throw a Duel Monsters tournament around the city, promptly called Battle City!"

I then noticed a loud whirring sound. Apparently, Kaiba was broadcasting this live from his chopper, which swooped in on the city.

"The tournament starts in two days! Be sure to pick up my Duel Disk technology, and the rest will be explained in two days. And rest assured-this will be nothing like Duelist Kingdom!"

I smirked; despite not having experiencing Duelist Kingdom, I knew that Ishizu gave Obelisk to Kaiba, meaning that her brother and his group of thugs, apparently called the Rare Hunters, were going to be participating in the tournament, and this was his and Ishizu's plan to attract them to the city in order to stop Marik from being able to destroy the items housed in the Shadow Items.

However, as Kaiba's chopper began moving closer to the ground, I noticed he had approached a certain figure; Yugi.

He had shut the cameras off, but I knew that was Yugi he was talking to. His hair stuck out like a sore thumb. However, the spirit of the Gauntlets spoke up.

"You know that man, don't you?" he asked. "The man who's talking to the boy who has the Millennium Puzzle, the Shadow Item which has the Pharaoh's spirit locked inside of it?"

"That's right." I said. "His name is Seto Kaiba. Ishizu entrusted Obelisk the Tormentor to him."

"WHAT?!" he exclaimed. "Ishizu gave that kind of power to a mortal who doesn't even have a guardian spirit that knows that kind of power? Why didn't she give it to the Pharaoh?"

"I'm not sure." I said. "Now that I think about it, I agree…this is too important a mission to leave in the hands of an egomaniac who doesn't know the magnitude of the situation that he doesn't even know he's in. I should inform him of the danger he's in…"

"I don't think this is a good time, Scott." he replied. "The Pharaoh is there. Not only will he notice your Shadow Item, but seeing him isn't the best thing for you. Wait until tomorrow."

"Agreed." I said. "It's probably for the best that I don't encounter Yugi."

I headed home after quite the exhausting day.

"Greetings, Master Scott." Croquet was always a suck-up.

"Please, I wish to be left alone, Croquet." I said.

"I understand." He then left the room.

"So…" I said to the spirit of the Gauntlets. "What kind of power do you have that brought the ancients to choose you as one of the vessels for the Shadow Items?"

"I…" he stopped in the middle of his speech. "Ishizu told you; souls that had different motives were placed in the Shadow Items. I…was a spy."

"You were a spy?" I asked flatly. I thought he'd have some sort of positive intent in his life, but I suppose not.

"I spied on the Pharaoh's enemies, but I never really got to see the Pharaoh. What made me special is that, on one of my missions, I was assigned to track a target's movement. The thing is…he found me out, and challenged me to a fight. I almost single-handedly killed the target myself. Mind you, I would have died in the process had I killed him."

"Hmm…" I said. "Interesting."

"The problem that I'm worried about…is that the spirit of the fiend from 5,000 years ago has already been awoken and is wreaking havoc around Domino."

"Is that so?" I asked. "It seems I need to pay more attention to Domino. However, I have to ask you…do you know of the Millennium Eye?"

"Indeed I do." he replied. "Not a Shadow Item, but one of the more powerful Millennium Items. It was passed down to the mortal who recreated the Shadow Games into the trading card game. And…he's your father, right?"

"That's right." I said. "The Millennium Eye was stolen directly after my father's defeat at Duelist Kingdom. I believe Yugi, or perhaps the Pharaoh, took it from him."

"A soul of his intent wouldn't do that sort of thing, Scott." he said.

"I suppose…" I said. "I'll think about how I'm going to deal with this tomorrow."

I headed out of the dining area as I headed into my room, going to sleep.


	7. All In A Day's Work

As I woke up, I donned my Gauntlets

As I woke up, I donned my Gauntlets.

"It took you long enough to wake up." mused the spirit of the Gauntlets. "You're quite the sleeper, Scott."

"Look, whoever you are," I said, "I'm not exactly one who beats around the bush quite like you do. I'm a guy whose multi-millionaire father just got hospitalized by, now possibly, a 5000 year-old Pharaoh. To add to that, I've been thrust into some stupid Egyptian's family affair, and given you to fight off some spirit who's trying to kill you, the Pharaoh, and probably the rest of the world."

"…" He let out a sigh of frustration. "You're such a mood-killer, you know that? You're no fun whatsoever." He then got serious. "Look, today, we can tell Kaiba what trouble he's in, get registered for his tournament, and then we can ask Yugi what the problem is."

"Well, either way, I'm going to take care of business." I said. "First, let's get registered for the tournament. I've always been a fan of Kaiba's toys, anyway."

I exited the Industrial Illusions headquarters in Domino City, and then headed on my bike to a nearby card shop to get registered for the tournament.

"Here is your Duel Disk, sir." the receptionist said as she handed me a Duel Disk.

"Thank you, ma'am."

"Also, here are your Locator Cards." She handed me two clear cards.

"Hmm…"

"Kaiba will explain the purpose of the Locator Cards tonight at a press conference he's holding in the central plaza of the city."

"Thank you, but I'm going to see Kaiba myself." I said.

I then exited the shop, speeding towards KaibaCorp's headquarters. As I arrived, I headed into the receptionist's desk.

"Is Kaiba in any meeting right now?" I asked the clerk at the desk.

"He doesn't appear to be."

"Tell him Scott is here to see him, and that it's urgent." I said.

"I understand." she answered. She picked up the phone and looked at me while she said, "Mr. Kaiba, a scary-looking guy with a brown mullet is here to see you. He said it's urgent; apparently his name's Scott? Uh huh? Yeah, so that's-oh, OK…Thank you, sir. Have a good day!" She hung up the phone. "Take the elevator to the fourteenth floor; you'll find him there."

"Thanks." I said, walking off. I would've told her to have a good day, but she called my clean-cut hairdo a mullet. So what, I didn't clean up my hair before I left?

"Heh heh…she called your hair a mullet." the spirit of the Gauntlets chimed.

I ignored him and headed upstairs to the fourteenth floor, where I headed into Kaiba's office.

"Scott…" he said with an upbeat tone in his voice. "I trust you've registered for the tournament."

I showed him my Duel Disk. However, I wasn't here to talk to him about the tournament. "Kaiba…do you know about the legend of the Millennium Items?" I asked.

"Oh, you mean the story that Ishizu fed to me?" Kaiba asked. "I find it silly…and I imagine you heard it from her as well."

"I did…however, I believe it for one reason." I showed off my Millennium Gauntlets.

"You have quite the flashy jewelry there, Scott." Kaiba said. "However, the idea of ancients playing with rocks doesn't click with me."

"Kaiba, I don't care about what Ishizu was talking about regarding the Shadow Games, but what I do care about is the fact that you and I are walking targets to the Rare Hunters." I said. "The Rare Hunters are after you for Obelisk, and me for whatever reasons. I just want to warn you right now…you and I are going to be caught up in this whether we want to or not."

"I'll take them down myself if I have to; I have Obelisk." he said confidently.

"I suppose I see your point. Good luck at the tournament, Kaiba…" I said.

"The same to you, Scott." he replied.

I decided now would be a better time than ever to find Yugi and see what was going on. I headed on my bike over to the card shop.

"Oh, hello, sir." an old man said as I entered the card shop. "How can I help you?"

"I'm looking for a Yugi Moto." I said kindly. "Could you tell me where he is?" I smiled at him to look innocent. I didn't want to look like I wanted to get the information out of Yugi…whatever it took.

"He's not here right now." he replied. "He went to get registered for the Battle City tournament."

"Hey, Grandpa, I'm back!"

I turned around, looking on in shock as I saw Yugi there.

"!!" Yugi noticed my Gauntlets. "Who…who are you?"

"Y-Yugi!" I exclaimed. "I…I challenge you to a duel!"

"YOU IDIOT!" the spirit of the Gauntlets exclaimed.

All of a sudden, Yugi's Puzzle began to shake. He began to change appearance, taking the form of the Pharaoh. "I accept your challenge…whoever you are."

"Scott's the name." I said, still taken aback by the fact that Yugi snuck up on me.

"Scott…I have to ask, where did you get those Gauntlets?"

"That's it." the Spirit exclaimed before I felt an overwhelming rush of power. All of a sudden, I could no longer move my body. The Spirit of the Gauntlets had taken me over. "Pardon my host…" he said, kneeling. "Greetings, Pharaoh. It is a blessing to meet you in person. I apologize for my host's rudeness. I have to ask…did you steal the Millennium Eye from Maxamillion Pegasus?"

"I did no such thing." he replied. "I have no idea what's happened to Pegasus after I defeated him at Duelist Kingdom."

"I see…but still, I would like to reiterate that my host challenged you to a game of Duel Monsters. I wish to see if I still have the skills to fight like I did 5,000 years ago…"

"I accept your challenge, ancient stranger!" Overdramatic much?

"Thank you, Pharaoh…" the Spirit said as the two of us headed outside.

"Duel!"

Yugi: 4000 L.P.  
Scott: 4000 L.P.


	8. Yugi vs Scott

"I will go first if you don't mind, Pharaoh

"I will go first if you don't mind, Pharaoh." the Spirit said. He drew a sixth card. "Uhh…I apologize, Pharaoh…it's been 5,000 years, and I'm certainly more used to the tablets than cards. The similarity is enough to get me by, though."

"Then let me take over." I said.

"Shut up." he replied mentally, as to not let Yugi hear. "I want to learn myself."

"Well, at least you're humble about your inability." the Pharaoh replied.

"All right…uhh, I summon this card." he said unconfidently as he placed a monster card face-up on the field. A small black dragon with wings appeared on the field, taking an offensive stance.

Fangbreaker Dragon  
DARK  
Level 4  
Dragon/Effect  
ATK: 1550  
DEF: 1450  
When this card battles a face-up Attack Position monster, destroy that monster after damage calculation is applied.

"I think I'm supposed to play non-monsters face-down…?" he asked, unsure of what he was doing. "OK, then, I play two cards face-down. Uhh…" He looked over his hand. "Uhh…I don't think there's anything else I want to do, so that should be it for now."

The Pharaoh's friends were looking at the Spirit as if he was an idiot. "Does this guy even know how to play Duel Monsters?" one of them said.

"Uhh…no I don't." he replied. "At least I'll admit it."

"I'll give you that…" the Pharaoh said, drawing his card. "But that doesn't mean I'm going to go easy on you."

"Understandable."

"I summon my Beta the Magnet Warrior in Attack Mode!" A strange yellow creature covered in magnets appeared on the field, taking an offensive stance.

Beta The Magnet Warrior  
EARTH  
Level 4  
Rock

ATK: 1700  
DEF: 1600

"Now, Beta, attack his Fangbreaker Dragon with Magnet Punch!" the Pharaoh commanded. Beta charged at the Spirit's dragon, punching it. However, before it was destroyed, it used its horn to charge into and destroy Beta.

Yugi: 4000 L.P.  
Scott: 3850 L.P.

"What happened?" the Spirit asked. He then looked at the text written on Fangbreaker Dragon. "Oh…it says that any monster in Attack Mode that it battles is destroyed." He said it so slowly that it made me feel bad for the Pharaoh; to have the King Of Games fight a complete rookie.

"So…now that my dragon's dead, I think I can use this!" He pushed a button on his Duel Disk. Dragon's Fang was revealed.

Dragon's Fang  
Trap/Normal  
Activate when your opponent destroys a Dragon-Type monster in battle. Draw 2 cards.

"So…I get to draw 2 cards…I think I'm picking this up." He began to have that sort of youthful energy he'd had earlier as he drew 2 cards from his deck.

"I set one card face-down and end my turn." the Pharaoh said.

"All right, I'll draw, then." the Spirit replied. "OK, I think I'll play this monster in Attack Mode…" He placed my Vengeance Dragon face-up. A large dragon with green and emerald scales stormed the field, spreading its wings and glaring fiercely at the Pharaoh.

Vengeance Dragon  
WIND  
Level 4

Dragon/Effect  
ATK: 1700  
DEF: 1200  
Each time a monster on your side of the field is destroyed by battle, increase the ATK of this card by 300 points.

"Now I'll have my dragon attack you directly!" he commanded. My dragon took flight, whipping up a tornado with its wings as it pushed the tornado towards the Pharaoh.

"I activate my Trap Card, Mirror Force!"

Mirror Force  
Trap/Normal  
Activate when your opponent declares an attack. Destroy all face-up Attack Position monsters on your opponent's side of the field.

"Not so fast!" he said, activating his face-down card.

Winds Of Myth  
Trap/Counter  
Discard 1 Dragon-Type monster from your hand to negate the activation of a Trap Card and destroy it. Then, increase the ATK of a face-up Dragon-Type monster on the field by 500 points until the end of the turn.

"Now, by getting rid of a Dragon-Type monster in my hand, I get to negate your Mirror Force. Then, my Dragon gains 500 attack points."

Yugi's Mirror appeared, but the tornado responded by spinning faster and hitting the Pharaoh.

Yugi: 1800 L.P.  
Scott: 3850 L.P.

"Yugi!" yelled the Pharaoh's friends.

"Ugh!" The Pharaoh's Life Points had taken a huge hit already, and the duel just started. Then again, my Deck was built like that; using aggressive force to quickly drain the opponent's Life Points.

"Uhh…I have nothing else that I can play, so I gotta end my turn."

"All right. I draw!" the Pharaoh said. "I play the Spell Card, Graceful Charity!"

Graceful Charity  
Spell/Normal  
Draw 3 cards, then discard 2 cards.

"I'm now allowed to draw three cards, so long as I discard two." he said. He drew three cards from his deck, then discarded two. "I then set one monster in Defense Mode, and one card face-down, and then I end my turn."

"I draw!" the Spirit said. "I summon Burst Flare Dragon in Attack Mode!" A very small dragon with a cannon for a beak appeared on the field.

Burst Flare Dragon  
FIRE  
Level 2  
Dragon/Effect  
ATK: 600  
DEF: 200  
The Battle Damage that this card inflicts to your opponent is doubled. Whenever you take Battle Damage, Tribute this card and inflict 1000 damage to your opponent.

"Now, Vengeance Dragon, attack his face-down monster!" Vengeance Dragon whipped up a tornado to attack the Pharaoh's monster, but the tornado didn't destroy the monster. It did flip it face-up, though, and the monster was Big Shield Guardna.

Big Shield Guardna  
EARTH  
Level 4  
Warrior/Effect  
ATK: 100  
DEF: 2600  
When this face-down monster is targeted by the effect of an opponent's card, negate the effect and change this card to face-up Defense Position. If this Defense Position monster is attacked, it is changed to Attack Position at the end of the Damage Step.

Big Shield Guardna not only weathered my Dragon's storm, but it managed to push it back to my Dragon, and back to the Spirit. The tornado caused my Dragon to fall out of the sky and the Spirit to be pushed back.

Yugi: 1800 L.P.  
Scott: 3150 L.P.

"That doesn't matter; my Burst Flare Dragon's effect kicks in. When I take damage in battle, my Dragon explodes, giving you 1000 damage!"

"Oh, no!"

My Burst Flare Dragon charged at Yugi, exploding on contact.

Yugi: 800 L.P.  
Scott: 3150 L.P.

"That's all I can do, so I end my turn." The Spirit had taken more of a confident stance.

"I draw!" the Pharaoh said. "I activate my face-down card; Change Of Heart!"

Change Of Heart  
Spell/Normal  
Take control of one of your opponent's monster until the end of the turn.

"Now, I get to take control of your Vengeance Dragon until the end of the turn, but I don't plan to let you get it back." he said. "I sacrifice my Big Shield Guardna and your Vengeance Dragon to summon…Dark Magician!"

Dark Magician  
DARK  
Level 7  
Spellcaster  
ATK: 2500  
DEF: 2100  
_The ultimate wizard in terms of attack and defense._

"Now, Dark Magician, attack him directly with Dark Magic Attack!" he commanded. The Dark Magician shot a burst of energy at the Spirit, pushing him back a bit.

Yugi: 800 L.P.  
Scott: 650 L.P.

"I end my turn."

"All right, I draw, then!" the Spirit said, drawing a card. "I activate Monster Reborn!"

Monster Reborn  
Spell/Normal  
Special Summon one monster from either player's Graveyard to your side of the field.

"A few turns ago, I discarded a Dragon with the effect of my Winds Of Myth, so I'll bring it back now; go, Scar Dragon!" The Monster Reborn symbol appeared. Bursting from it was a small, black, wingless dragon.

Scar Dragon  
DARK  
Level 7  
Dragon/Effect  
ATK: 2200  
DEF: 2500  
Increase the ATK of this card by 500 points for each Dragon-Type monster in your Graveyard. Remove a Dragon-Type monster in your Graveyard from play to negate the activation of a Spell or Trap Card during the Battle Phase.

"Now, my Dragon doesn't look like it can beat your Magician right now, but it gets an extra 500 attack points for each of my Dragons in my Graveyard."

Scar Dragon: ATK/3200, DEF/2500

"Now, my Dragon, attack his Dark Magician!"

"I activate a Trap Card, Spellbinding Circle!"

Spellbinding Circle  
Trap/Continuous  
Select one face-up monster on the field. The selected monster cannot attack or change positions as long as this card remains face-up, and the selected monster loses 700 ATK as long as this card remains face-up.

A circle appeared, and tried to bind my Dragon, but all of a sudden, my Dragon's ATK dropped to 2700 as the circle fizzled.

"What…?"

"I get to remove a Dragon from my Graveyard to negate the effect of your Circle and destroy it. So, my attack on your Magician goes through!" My Dragon shot a ball of fire at his Magician and destroyed it.

Yugi: 600 L.P.  
Scott: 650 L.P.

"I end my turn."

"I draw!" the Pharaoh said. "I activate…Swords of Revealing Light!"

Swords Of Revealing Light  
Spell/Normal  
When this card is activated, flip all opponent's face-down monsters face-up. This card remains face-up on the field until your opponent's 3rd End Phase after activation. As long as this card remains face-up, your opponent cannot declare an attack.

"Now, for three turns, you can't attack, so I have time to buy. I summon Gamma The Magnet Warrior in Defense Mode!"

Gamma The Magnet Warrior  
EARTH  
Level 4  
Rock  
ATK: 1500  
DEF: 1800

"That ends my turn."

"I draw!" the Spirit said. "I activate the Spell Card, Blazing Fury!"

Blazing Fury  
Spell/Normal  
You can only activate this card when you have a face-up Dragon-Type monster on your side of the field. Destroy all Spell and Trap cards on the field, and inflict 500 damage to your opponent for each of your opponent's cards destroyed by this effect. You cannot conduct your Battle Phase this turn.

"Blazing Fury gets rid of all Spell and Trap Cards on the field, and you take 500 damage for each of the cards I manage to destroy with this effect!"

"No!"

My Scar Dragon inhaled as he blazed the Pharaoh's field. When the flames settled, the Swords of Revealing Light were gone.

Yugi: 100 L.P.  
Scott: 650 L.P.

"You're lucky, Pharaoh…I can't attack this turn. However, next turn, I've got this duel won, and I can assure you that."

"Ugh…" he said. He paused for a moment. Considering the pressure he was under, I imagine he'd be worried. However, when he opened his eyes, he was determined to win. "I draw!" He then grinned. "I'm sorry, whatever spirit you might be, but this duel is over. I summon…Alpha the Magnet Warrior in Attack Mode!"

Alpha The Magnet Warrior  
EARTH  
Level 4  
Rock  
ATK: 1400  
DEF: 1700

"Then, I activate Monster Reborn! This lets me revive Beta The Magnet Warrior from my Graveyard! Now, with Alpha, Beta, and Gamma on the field, I can combine them! So, my Magnet Warriors…Assemble!"

The Magnet Warriors broke into tiny pieces and reformed. "Meet…Valkyrion The Magna Warrior!"

Valkyrion The Magna Warrior  
EARTH  
Level 9 (?)  
Rock/Effect  
ATK: 3500  
DEF: 3800  
This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card can only be Special Summoned by Tributing "Alpha The Magnet Warrior", "Beta The Magnet Warrior", and "Gamma The Magnet Warrior" from your side of the field. During your Main Phase, you can Tribute this card to Special Summon "Alpha The Magnet Warrior", "Beta The Magnet Warrior", and "Gamma The Magnet Warrior" from your Graveyard.

"Go, Valkyrion, end this with Magnet Sword!" Valkyrion brought his sword down on my Dragon, splitting it in half. The destruction of my dragon caused a dust cloud that, when cleared, saw Yugi standing victorious with his Magna Warrior there.

Yugi: 100 L.P.  
Scott: 0 L.P.

"Hey, I lost, how about that!" he said. "But you are the Pharaoh…I expected no less from you."

"For someone who doesn't play the game, you have quite the deck." the Pharaoh replied.

"Well, it's my host's deck. Here, why don't you get introduced?" I then felt another rush of power as I was given control of my body back.

"Whoa…" I said. I wasn't used to having my body being taken over.

"You are quite the strange one." the Pharaoh said. "You come here asking for a duel, then have your spirit take over your body in order to duel me when he doesn't know what he's doing."

"I'm still getting used to sharing my body and having this happen." I said. "I just came here to figure out what happened to my father's Millennium Eye…"

"Father?" he asked, taken aback. "You're…the son of Pegasus?"

"That's right." I said. "However, Yugi, now that I know that you had nothing to do with what happened to my father, I need to ask you for a small favor in helping me find out who WAS responsible. It is a duty that I must fulfill to my father in order to help me come to terms with what's happened to him."

"I understand, and I'll do everything to help." the Pharaoh said. "You're entering Kaiba's Battle City tournament, correct?"

"Yes I am." I said.

"Why don't you come with us to see how the tournament works?" he asked. "We're going to head to the plaza later on today; you should join us and see what's going to happen."

"Indeed." I said. "Until then, I need you to explain what happened to my father at Duelist Kingdom."

"Your father, if you don't mind me saying, was a bit radical in his technique to revive your mother from the dead." the Pharaoh said. "He tried to steal the Millennium Puzzle from me in an attempt to use the power of the seven Millennium Items to revive your mother from the dead."

"Yes, that much I know." I said.

"In the finals in Duelist Kingdom, I defeated your father. After defeating him, he disappeared. I had to find him, for he had the souls of Kaiba, Mokuba, and my grandfather locked in the Shadow Realm. As we found him, his goons were carrying him down the stairs of his personal quarters, and his Millennium Eye was gone…"

"I see…" I said. "Thank you, Pharaoh. I apologize for the odd impression I've given you…but I've only had the Millennium Gauntlets for a day, and I didn't know the Spirit of the Gauntlets could take over my body."

"It takes getting used to, that's for sure. Yugi and I get along just fine, but it took us about a year to get to this point." he said. "You just have to adjust. However…you must have met Ishizu, and she must have told you the legends of the Shadow Items."

"That's right." I replied. "This is one of them, as is your Puzzle and Marik's Millennium Rod."

"Indeed." he said. "You and I have to watch out, as the Rare Hunters will be after us."

"I'm not ready for this." I said. "I didn't want to be a part of this tournament, and I certainly didn't want to be wrapped up in this whole Shadow Items thing…"

"I don't think my host, or any of his friends for that matter, were prepared for the events that happened after my host came into the possession of this Puzzle…" the Pharaoh said.

"Well, what can we do but let what's supposed to happen happen?" I asked flatly. "Regardless…good to know I can have your support for this whole ordeal."

"Well, I think it best that, in interest of helping you, I should do two things. The first, I should get you better synced with your spirit. The second, I should train your spirit to be a better duelist." he said.

"Hey!" one of Yugi's friends said. "Why don't you let me duel him?"

"Joey?" the Pharaoh said. "Well, why not. I'll let you duel him to give him some good practice."

He stepped up, looking confident enough. "Let's duel!"


	9. The All Powerful Fist Of Judgement

"Duel

"Duel!"

Scott: 4000 L.P.  
Joey: 4000 L.P.

I allowed the Spirit to take over before Joey started. "Me first; I summon my Rocket Warrior in Attack Mode!" A mechanical warrior in a checkered rocket suit took the field, arming its sword.

Rocket Warrior  
LIGHT  
Level 4  
ATK: 1500  
DEF: 1300  
Activate the effect of this card during the Damage Step. Any damage this card takes is reduced to 0. Decrease the ATK of a monster this card attacks by 500 until the End Phase.

"Now, I set one card face-down and end my turn."

"I draw!" the Spirit said. "All right…" He was becoming more confident as he examined his hand. He had two monsters he could summon, so he had to pick the right one. He didn't know Joey's deck, but he knew the field. "I summon my Tempest Dragon in Attack Mode!" A rather large black dragon with yellow veins running along its wings took the field, roaring fiercely and spreading its wings, taking a glaring offensive stance.

Tempest Dragon  
LIGHT  
Level 4

ATK: 1600  
DEF: 1000  
One of the following effects activates when the effect of an opponent's card is activated. If one of these effects is activated, another cannot be activated until your next Standby Phase:  
-Effect Monster: Destroy one monster on the field.  
-Spell: Cut the ATK of all your opponent's monsters in half until the End Phase.  
-Trap: This card is unaffected by the effects of Spell and Trap Cards until the End Phase.

"Now, Tempest Dragon, attack his Rocket Warrior!" he commanded. The Dragon whipped its tail around, then withdrew its wings, expanding them and using the electricity running through them to send a shockwave towards the Rocket Warrior.

"Activate face-down card; Skull Dice!"

(A/N: Show version.)  
Skull Dice  
Trap/Normal  
Roll 1 6-sided die once. Divide the ATK of all your opponent's face-up monsters by the result.

An airborne imp holding a six-sided die appeared. However, Tempest Dragon's shockwave burst right through it, destroying Rocket Warrior.

Scott: 4000 L.P.  
Joey: 3900 L.P.

"What happened?"

"My Tempest Dragon's special ability is what happened." the Spirit said. "Whenever you activate a card effect, my Dragon reacts to that effect. Since you activate a Trap, my Dragon becomes immune to your Spell and Trap Cards, meaning your Skull Dice does nothing!"

"Oh, darn, that sucks." he mused.

"I set one card face-down and end my turn."

"All right, I draw!" he said, drawing a card. "I summon Panther Warrior in Attack Mode!"

Panther Warrior  
EARTH  
Level 4

ATK: 2000  
DEF: 1600  
When attacking with this card, you must Tribute a monster before the Damage Step.

"All right, then I play Scapegoat!"

Scapegoat  
Spell/Quick-Play  
When you activate this card, you cannot Normal Summon or Set a monster in the same turn. Special Summon 4 "Sheep Tokens" (EARTH, Level 1, ATK/0, DEF/0) in Defense Position on your side of the field. The Summoned "Sheep Tokens" cannot be Tributed for a Tribute Summon.

"All right, now, my Panther Warrior needs a sacrifice to attack, so, I'll get rid of one of my Scapegoats!"

"I trigger my face-down card; Skies Of Myth!"

Skies Of Myth  
Trap/Normal  
Activate when your opponent declares an attack on a Dragon-Type monster. Negate the attack, then Special Summon one Dragon-Type monster from your hand. That monster cannot attack until your 2nd Standby Phase after this card's activation.

"First, your attack is negated. Then, I get to play a Dragon from my hand!" Panther Warrior swung its sword at the Spirit's Tempest Dragon. However, it took to the skies, heading high into the clouds. Eventually, it descended, but another dragon was accompanying it.

"Meet my Fangbreaker Dragon!"

Fangbreaker Dragon  
DARK  
Level 4  
Dragon/Effect  
ATK: 1550  
DEF: 1450  
When this card battles a face-up Attack Position monster, destroy that monster after damage calculation is applied.

"Ugh. Well, I'll set a face-down card and end my turn."

"I draw!" the Spirit said. "I summon Dragon Commander in Attack Mode!" A goblin wearing red armor and wielding a large sword stormed the field, riding a small aerial dragon.

Dragon Commander  
DARK  
Level 3  
Fiend/Effect  
ATK: ?  
DEF: ?  
The ATK and DEF of this card are both equal to the amount of Dragon-Type monsters on the field x1000 points. As long at this card remains face-up on the field, your opponent cannot select another Dragon-Type monster on your side of the field as an attack target.

"Now, I play the Spell Card, Mist Shroud!" A blanket of mist enshrouded our side of the field.

Mist Shroud  
Spell/Normal  
Until the end of the turn, monsters on your side of the field are not destroyed in battle.

"Now, allow me to explain, Joey." the Spirit said. "See, first off, my Dragon Commander has attack power equal to the amount of dragons I control. So, if you do the math, that's 2000 points, enough to match the power of your Panther. Then, my Mist Shroud Spell Card, my monsters don't get destroyed in battle. So, I'll have my Commander attack your Panther!"

"Activate face-down card; Fairy Box!"

Fairy Box  
Trap/Continuous  
Whenever your opponent declares an attack, toss a coin and call it. If you call it right, the ATK of the attacking monster becomes 0 during the Damage Step only. Pay 500 Life Points during each of your Standby Phases. If you do not, destroy this card.

"Now, I get to see if your monster's attack power will become 0 during the attack of your monster!"

A box popped up where Panther Warrior was. The Commander attacked it, but missed, and Panther Warrior popped out of one of the other holes, slashing at the Commander.

Joey: 3900 L.P.  
Scott: 2000 L.P.

"!!" The Spirit was taken aback by the fact that he just lost half his Life Points to a game of chance. However, he smartened up. "Now, Tempest Dragon, attack his Goat Token!"

"Oh, darn…I forgot, your Dragon bypasses my Fairy Box."

The Dragon sent a wave of lightning towards one of the goat tokens, shattering it.

"All right…" the Spirit said. "I lay two cards face-down, and end my turn."

"I draw!" Joey said. "Now, I want to keep my Fairy Box in play, so I have to pay 500 of my Life Points!"

Joey: 3400 L.P.  
Scott: 2000 L.P.

"Now, I summon Gearfried the Iron Knight in Attack Mode!"

Gearfried The Iron Knight  
EARTH  
Level 4  
Warrior/Effect  
ATK: 1800  
DEF: 1600  
Any Equip Card equipped to this card is automatically destroyed.

"Now, Gearfried, attack his Tempest Dragon!"

"I trigger my face-down card…Roar of Armies!"

Roar of Armies  
Trap/Continuous  
As long as your opponent controls more monsters than you, and you control at least one monster, monsters on your side of the field are not destroyed in battle, and you take no Battle Damage. Each time your opponent attacks, they can Special Summon a monster from their hand. Tribute a monster on your side of the field during each of your Standby Phases. If you do not, this card is destroyed.

"Now, my monsters aren't destroyed in battle, and I take no damage as a result of battle, so long as you control more monsters than I do. However, your attack still goes through for one specific reason."

Gearfried charged at our Dragon. The Dragon blocked the attack, but the attack released a loud roar.

"Now, the Roar of Armies allows you to summon any monster from your hand."

"You're gonna be sorry you said that, kid. Since you can let me summon any monster, I might as well summon my Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"

Red-Eyes Black Dragon  
DARK  
Level 7  
Dragon  
ATK: 2400  
DEF: 2000

"Since attacking won't get me anywhere, I end my turn."

"Now, I draw!" The Spirit drew his card, and the card he drew sent chills down both of our spines. The Spirit of the Gauntlets had just drawn The Arbiter-Solencio, the fourth of many Egyptian God Cards.

"What do we do?" I asked. "Should we…play it?"

"I say we should." he responded in thought. "I feel bad for having to test it on an innocent bystander, and would prefer using it on one of the Rare Hunters, but given the opportunity, why not see what potential this card has?"

"All right, then…I hope you know what you're doing." I warned.

"That's just it…I don't."

"Will you hurry up and make your move already?" Joey asked. "You've been staring at the card you drew for like, two hours now!"

The Spirit gasped, having been lost in thought. "Uhh…sorry. My Roar of Armies card needs a sacrifice to stay alive, and I don't need it anymore, so I'll get rid of it."

"That's an odd move." the Pharaoh said. "I wonder what he's up to…"

"Now, I sacrifice all three of my monsters to summon this!" The winds of sacrifice enveloped the Spirit's monsters, dissolving them. "Meet The Arbiter-Solencio!" Wind was beginning to whip up tiny gusts as an enormous green serpent with extremely large wings and even larger fists stormed the field.

The Arbiter-Solencio  
DIVINE  
Level 10  
Divine Beast/Effect  
ATK: ?  
DEF: ?  
This card can only be Tribute Summoned by Tributing 3 monsters on your side of the field. This card is unaffected by the effects of Trap Cards. The effect of any Spell Card that this card is effected by is negated at the End Phase of that Spell Card's activation. The ATK and DEF of this card are each equal to the total ATK and DEF of the monsters Tributed to Tribute Summon this card. By decreasing the ATK of this card by 1000, destroy one card on the field. Tribute a monster on your side of the field to increase the ATK of this card by the ATK of the Tributed monster. Each time your opponent attacks a monster on your side of the field other than this card, that monster is destroyed after damage calculation.

"!!" The sight of this massive beast took everyone, including the Spirit, by surprise. I had seen Obelisk, so my surprise was purely that I had control of such an immensely powerful creature.

"What in the world is THAT THING?!" Joey exclaimed.

"I…" the Pharaoh began. "I've seen that thing before…I know I have."

"Solencio gets power equal to the combined power of the monsters I sacrificed to summon it." the Spirit said.

The Arbiter-Solencio  
ATK: 5150  
DEF: 4450

"Holy cow!" Joey exclaimed. "Good thing I got my Fairy Box protecting my monsters."

"I'm sorry, Joey, but Solencio isn't able to lose its attack power due to your Box. It's too powerful a card to be affected by a simple game of Whack-A-Mole."

"Uh oh, that's not good."

"I also play the card to end this game; Dragon's Tear!"

Dragon's Tear  
Spell/Normal  
Select one face-up monster on your side of the field. Until the End Phase of the turn this card is activated, in addition to a normal attack, the selected monster can attack an additional time for each Dragon-Type monster sent from the field to the Graveyard during the turn this card was activated.

"Now, Solencio, crush Red-Eyes with Gavel Fist!"

Solencio used its towering figure to loom over Red-Eyes, bringing its fist down on it, crushing it.

"Now, my Dragon's Tear's effect kicks in. Since a Dragon was just destroyed, Solencio can attack again. So, Solencio, end this by attacking Joey's Panther Warrior!"

Solencio swung its fist, clearing the field in one clean swing.

Scott: 2000 L.P.  
Joey: 0 L.P.

"Holy…what the heck just happened?"

"You got creamed by some…giant scary snake is what happened." one of Yugi's friends answered.

"Shut up, Tristan!" Joey retorted.

"Scott…what IS that monster you summoned?" the Pharaoh asked. "Had you summoned that in our duel, I would have had no chance of defeating you."

"Pharaoh…have you ever heard of the Egyptian Gods?" the Spirit asked. "They're legendary creatures of ancient mythology. Apparently, Pegasus had created them as Duel Monsters cards. This is one of them; The Arbiter-Solencio."

"I see." the Pharaoh said, obviously deep in thought. "Did Ishizu give you this?"

"My host received Solencio along with the Gauntlets." the Spirit answered. "I think it's safe to say that the Rare Hunters possess at least one of these Egyptian God cards."

"Indeed." he added.

"Kaiba also has one for himself." the Spirit said.

"Huh? Ishizu gave one of the Egyptian Gods to…Kaiba?" the Pharaoh asked.

"I don't question Ishizu." the Spirit said sternly. "She knows what she's doing, contrary to the beliefs of you and my host. Just…let things go the way they were supposed to go, and everything should be fine."

"I suppose." the Pharaoh said. "Hmm…" He looked at the sky. It was sunset. "We'd better head over to the plaza. Kaiba will be announcing the tournament's rules and operations soon."

"Good idea, Pharaoh." The Spirit allowed me to take control.

"Well, let's go already!" Joey said.

I headed with the Pharaoh, Joey, and their two other friends as we headed towards the center plaza of the city. There, Kaiba showed up on-screen.

"Greetings, duelists!" Kaiba said. "I'm glad to see the turnout of the audience today. It seems a lot of duelists are willing to lose." He chuckled arrogantly.

"He was always the smug one." I mused.

"No kidding." the Pharaoh added.

"Here's how it works. Each duelist was given two Locator Cards upon registration. Before each duel, each duelist must wager one Locator Card. In addition, they must put their rarest card up for grabs, with the loser parting with both their Locator Card and their rarest card."

I gasped. So if I lost, whoever beat me would possess Solencio.

"Now, the idea of the tournament is to be one of the first eight duelists to possess six Locator Cards. If you have six, you'll be able to use the cards to find the registration area for the finals. And that's it, duelists. The tournament starts tomorrow. I wish you good luck in Battle City."

Hmm…interesting. So, not only did this mission have to be carefully executed, but quickly at that. No pressure, though.

"Scott…" the Pharaoh said. "I do hope that I have your help in the mission to stop Marik from destroying not only me and your Gauntlets' spirit, but the world itself as well."

"Without a doubt, Pharaoh." I said. "You have my full assistance. However, I also need to monitor Kaiba…I'm worried that his ignorance is going to get him in a very unfortunate situation."

"I agree." he said. "You go ahead and keep an eye on him. I have nobody but myself to worry about."

"Thank you, Pharaoh. I'm going to begin searching for Locator Cards tomorrow. For now, I need to go home." I headed back to the card shop, got my bike, and headed back home. I needed some sleep…I had a strange but satisfying day.


	10. Scott vs The Rare Hunter

After waking up, I decided to head out to Battle City to find duelists to challenge for the tournament

After waking up, I decided to head out to Battle City to find duelists to challenge for the tournament. Early on, I'd found Yugi. He and Joey were there, looking at a cloaked figure.

"Yugi!" I exclaimed, running up to him. "What's going on?"

"Scott!" Yugi said. "It's this Rare Hunter…He stole Joey's Red-Eyes!"

"Huh?" the Rare Hunter seemed to take notice to me. "You…you're Scott Pegasus, aren't you?"

"Yeah, what of it?" I asked.

"Hmm…I'll tell you what." he said. "I challenge you to a duel! If you win, I promise to return Joey's Red-Eyes Black Dragon to him. However, if you lose…I get your Egyptian God Card!"

"!!" I gasped. "How do you know about Solencio?"

"We are the Rare Hunters…we have eyes all over Domino City…"

"Well, whatever. I accept your challenge, Rare Hunter!" I said.

"All right…" he said, extending his Duel Disk. It transformed into its ready-to-duel form, and I followed suit. "Time to duel!"

Scott: 4000 L.P.  
Rare Hunter: 4000 L.P.

"I'll go first." he said, drawing six cards. I drew five. "I activate the Spell Card, Pot of Greed!"

Pot of Greed  
Spell/Normal  
Draw 2 cards.

"Now, I can draw 2 cards."

"Watch out, Scott!" Joey exclaimed. "This guy—"

"Silence, Wheeler!" the Rare Hunter declared. "If you say a word about the cards in my Deck, I'm going to rip your Red-Eyes to shreds."

"!!" I gasped. "You wouldn't!"

"Oh?" he said, holding Red-Eyes up. "I don't think you'd like to find out the hard way."

"Ugh…fine, go on." I spat.

"I then summon Stone Statue of the Aztecs in Defense Mode!"

Stone Statue of the Aztecs  
EARTH  
Level 4  
Rock/Effect  
ATK: 300  
DEF: 2000  
Any Battle Damage your opponent takes from attacking this Defense Position monster is doubled.

"Now, I set one card face-down, then end my turn."

"I draw!" I said. "I summon Burrow Dragon in Attack Mode!" A brown, scaly dragon stormed the field, protruding from a virtual hole in the ground.

Burrow Dragon  
EARTH  
Level 3  
Dragon/Effect  
ATK: 700  
DEF: 600  
This card can attack your opponent directly. When this card inflicts Battle Damage to your opponent, your opponent reveals their hand.

"Now, my Burrow Dragon can attack you directly, so I'll do just that! Go, Burrow Dragon, attack!" The Dragon lunged at the Rare Hunter's Stone Statue, but as it came up, it burrowed into the ground, coming up on the Rare Hunter and striking him.

"Ugh!"

Scott: 4000 L.P.  
Rare Hunter: 3300 L.P.

"Now, my Burrow Dragon's effect kicks in! Since it's successfully attacked you, you have to show your hand!"

"!!"

The Rare Hunter's hand was revealed: Gear Golem the Moving Fortress, Left Arm of the Forbidden One, Level Limit-Area B, Right Leg of the Forbidden One, Sangan, and Graceful Charity.

"Exodia? Hmm…" I said. "Interesting!"

"So what, you've figured out my strategy!" he retorted. "That doesn't mean you'll be able to beat it!"

"Well, whatever." I said. "I set one card face-down and end my turn."

"I draw!" he said. "Activate Graceful Charity!"

Graceful Charity  
Spell/Normal  
Draw 3 cards, then discard 2 cards.

"Now, I draw 3 cards, then discard 2." He did just that. "Now, I summon Sangan!"

Sangan  
DARK  
Level 3  
Fiend/Effect  
ATK: 1000  
DEF: 600  
When this card is sent from the field to the Graveyard, search your Deck for a monster with 1500 or less ATK and add it to your hand.

"Now, go, Sangan, attack his Burrow Dragon!"

"I activate my face-down card, Skies of Myth!"

Skies Of Myth  
Trap/Normal  
Activate when your opponent declares an attack on a Dragon-Type monster. Negate the attack, then Special Summon one Dragon-Type monster from your hand. That monster cannot attack until your 2nd Standby Phase after this card's activation.

"Now, your attack gets negated, then I get to summon a Dragon from my hand. Meet my Vengeance Dragon!"

Vengeance Dragon  
WIND  
Level 4

Dragon/Effect  
ATK: 1700  
DEF: 1200  
Each time a monster on your side of the field is destroyed by battle, increase the ATK of this card by 300 points.

"Now, the upside to summoning my Dragon; it can't attack until the turn after next. But really, it doesn't matter to me." I said.

"Well, now, before I end my turn, I play Swords of Revealing Light!"

Swords of Revealing Light  
Spell/Normal  
When this card is activated, flip all opponent's face-down monsters face-up. This card remains face-up on the field until your opponent's 3rd End Phase after activation. As long as this card remains face-up, your opponent cannot declare an attack.

"Now, your monsters can't attack for three turns!" he said. "I activate the face-down card I'd set last turn; Jar of Greed!"

Jar of Greed  
Trap/Normal  
Draw 1 card.

"So, I get an extra card." he said. "I then end my turn."

"I draw!" I said. "I summon my Burst Flare Dragon in Defense Mode!"

Burst Flare Dragon  
FIRE  
Level 2  
Dragon/Effect  
ATK: 600  
DEF: 200  
The Battle Damage that this card inflicts to your opponent is doubled. Whenever you take Battle Damage, Tribute this card and inflict 1000 damage to your opponent.

"A face-down card should do it." I said.

"All right, I draw!" he said. "I play a second Graceful Charity!" He drew 3 cards, then discarded 2 of them. "I then switch my Sangan to Attack Mode, and have it attack your Vengeance Dragon!"

"I suppose I won't deny you a chance to kill your own monster!" I said.

Sangan ran towards my Dragon, but it fired back, destroying it.

Scott: 4000 L.P.  
Rare Hunter: 2600 L.P.

"Now, my Sangan's effect activates! Since it's been destroyed, I can take a monster from my deck and add it to my hand, as long as it has 1500 or less attack points." He looked through his deck, revealing Exodia the Forbidden One. He then added it to his hand, shuffling his deck. "That should do it for me."

"I draw." I said. "Activate face-down card; Mythical Brutality!"

Mythical Brutality  
Trap/Normal  
Activate only when you have more cards on your side of the field than your opponent. Destroy one face-up card on the field.

"Now, my Mythical Brutality will destroy your Swords of Revealing Light!"

"That doesn't matter!" he said as his Swords were destroyed. He then grinned. Something was up. He must have been close to assembling Exodia, so I had to act fast. However, I had the perfect card. "So, you say you know about Solencio, Rare Hunter? Well, how about you experience its power first-hand? I sacrifice all three of my monsters and summon The Arbiter; Solencio!" The winds of sacrifice enveloped my three Dragons, and Solencio stormed the field.

The Arbiter-Solencio  
DIVINE  
Level 10  
Divine Beast/Effect  
ATK: ?  
DEF: ?  
This card can only be Tribute Summoned by Tributing 3 monsters on your side of the field. This card is unaffected by the effects of Trap Cards. The effect of any Spell Card that this card is effected by is negated at the End Phase of that Spell Card's activation. The ATK and DEF of this card are each equal to the total ATK and DEF of the monsters Tributed to Tribute Summon this card. By decreasing the ATK of this card by 1000, destroy one card on the field. Tribute a monster on your side of the field to increase the ATK of this card by the ATK of the Tributed monster. Each time your opponent attacks a monster on your side of the field other than this card, that monster is destroyed after damage calculation.

"Solencio…!" the Rare Hunter said. "I heard of the legend of the Egyptian Gods, but have never seen one myself!"

Solencio  
ATK: 3000  
DEF: 2000

"Now, I play the Spell Card, Monster Reborn!"

Monster Reborn  
Spell/Normal  
Special Summon one monster from either player's Graveyard under your control.

"With that, I'll revive my Vengeance Dragon!" Vengeance Dragon returned to the field, bursting out of the Monster Reborn symbol.

"So what if you have a powerful monster?" he laughed. "Even if you're able to destroy my Stone Statue with your Egyptian God, your Dragon doesn't have enough strength to deplete the rest of my Life Points. And next turn, I'll draw the final piece of Exodia that I need to destroy you!"

I laughed. "That's what you think!" I exclaimed. "You underestimate the power that my Egyptian God has. Firstly, I'll sacrifice my Vengeance Dragon to give my Egyptian God an additional 1700 attack points!"

Solencio placed its massive hand directly above my Dragon. The Dragon bowed valiantly, dissipating into energy. Solencio absorbed the energy as its attack power rose to 4700.

"Now, for the other effect my Solencio has! I can decrease my Solencio's attack power by 1000 to destroy any card on the field!"

"WHAT?!" he exclaimed.

My Solencio's attack power dropped to 3700 as it clenched its fist. It pounded it like a gavel directly on Stone Statue of the Aztecs, shattering it.

"Go, Solencio, he's wide open!" I said. "Finish this with Gavel Fist!"

Solencio then swung its fist at the Rare Hunter, sending him flying back.

Scott: 4000 L.P.  
Rare Hunter: 0 L.P.

"I win." I said.

I then approached the Rare Hunter to claim his Locator Card and Joey's Red-Eyes, but he began to scream.

"Master Marik!!" he screamed. "Please, Master Marik! Please spare me! I'm sorry I've failed you! AAHHHH!" He screamed, then fell to his knees. However, as he stood up again, his face had a strange mark on it.

"Greetings, Pharaoh and Scott!" Marik said through the Rare Hunter. "Ah, Scott…my sister's kindness never ceases to amuse me. It seems you're getting used to wielding the power that you've been entrusted with. I underestimated you…but don't think for a second that the power you have has anything over the power I do!"

"Cheap talk, Marik." I said. "Why don't you fight us yourself if you're so confident about the so-called 'power' you have?"

"You'd like that, wouldn't you, Scott?" he snidely replied. "However, I will show you my power when I feel the time is right. However, know this. I WILL destroy the spirits inside your Gauntlets, as well as you, Pharaoh!"

"Some tomb-keeper you are." I insulted. "Wanting to destroy the very man you swore to serve."

"Silence, fool." he said. "My motives are no longer those of my family. Besides, I don't need to answer to a mere mortal like you."

"Your motives are fruitless, Marik." I said. "The Pharaoh and I will stop you."

"Well, I'd love to argue with you a bit more, but I have to leave you to plan the rest of my ambitions." he said, releasing his Rare Hunter from mind control.

"Well, that was fun, I suppose." I said, taking his Locator Card. "Here, Joey." I then looked through his cards, taking his Red-Eyes Black Dragon. "I promised I'd give it back if I won."

"Thank you, Scott." Joey said.

"Scott…" Yugi said.

"Don't mention it, Yugi." I said. "Consider it repayment to you for the rudeness I displayed to you when we first met."

"Thank you, Scott…" Yugi said. "And good luck in the tournament!"

"Thanks, Yugi." I said. "You too."

I then parted ways with Yugi, wandering the city. Hopefully, I would find another Rare Hunter, and continue to use Ishizu's power to destroy the Rare Hunters.


	11. Poison Thorn Forest! Scott vs Sasha

I took the time to wander around

I took the time to wander around. Thought Kaiba explained that only the first 8 duelists to get 6 Locator Cards would advance to the finals, however, I was halfway there already. I decided to stop in the center of the city, sitting on a bench. Standing there was a strange mime. Ignoring him, I sat down.

I sat there for about an hour, thinking. I loved time to myself to just think, and having it always helped me tap into potential I had. After that time, I got up, wandering around. Eventually, I walked over to the northwest side of the city, and just as I stopped to take a breather, I was approached by a short, green-haired woman.

"Hello…" she said shyly. "You're…Scott Pegasus, right?"

"Yes." I said. "Why? Who wants to know?"

"My name is Sasha Ferra." she said. "I've always wanted to duel one of Industrial Illusions' elites…and the son of Pegasus himself would be almost the perfect opponent!" She armed her Duel Disk.

"A duel?" I asked. "How can I refuse a challenge when you hand-picked me?" I armed my Duel Disk as well.

"Wonderful!" she squealed.

Sasha: 4000 L.P.  
Scott: 4000 L.P.

"However, since you challenged me, I want to go first." I said. "I summon Tidal Dragon in Defense Mode!" A blue dragon with multiple scales stormed the field.

Tidal Dragon  
WATER  
Level 4  
Dragon/Effect  
ATK: 1000  
DEF: 2000  
When the battle position of this card is changed (this includes Flip Summoning this card), return one card on the field to it's owner's hand.

"Now, I set one card face-down and end my turn." I said.

"I draw!" Sasha said. "I activate a field spell, Poison Thorn Forest!" She opened her field spell slot, and inserted her card there. A field of thorns enveloped the field.

Poison Thorn Forest  
Spell/Field  
When this card is activated, place 3 Thorn Counters on this card. You can Tribute a Plant-Type monster on your side of the field to place Thorn Counters on this card equal to the Level of the Tributed monster. Increases the ATK of all Plant-Type monsters on your side of the field by 300 points. During your opponent's Battle Phase, decrease the ATK of any opponent's monster that attacks by 100 for each Thorn Counter on this card.

"Now, I summon my Thorn Dog in Attack Mode!"

Thorn Dog  
EARTH  
Level 4  
Plant/Effect  
ATK: 900  
DEF: 800  
Increase the ATK and DEF of this card by 100 points for each Thorn Counter on the field. Decrease the ATK and DEF of an opponent's monster that's attacked by this card by 100 points for each Thorn Counter on the field.

"I then play the Spell Card, Thorn Growth!"

Thorn Growth  
Spell/Normal  
Place 1 Thorn Counter on a card that have Thorn Counters on it for every monster on the field.

"Now, my Thorn Dog may not look like he's got enough power to destroy your Dragon, but now the card effects kick in! First, my Dog gets 100 attack points for every Thorn Counter on the field. My Thorn Forest has 3 when it comes into play, so it gets 300 points. Plus, my Forest gives each Plant-Type monster 300 attack points. Then, my Thorn Growth puts 1 Thorn Counter on my Forest for each monster on the field. So, if you do the math, that gives my Thorn Dog 1700 attack points!"

"That's not enough to beat my Dragon, I'm afraid."

"That doesn't matter; any creature my Thorn Dog attacks loses 100 attack and defense for each Thorn Counter in play." she said. "So, Thorn Dog, attack his Tidal Dragon!"

"I activate my Trap; Skies of Myth!"

Skies of Myth  
Trap/Normal  
Activate when your opponent declares an attack on a Dragon-Type monster. Negate the attack, then Special Summon one Dragon-Type monster from your hand. That monster cannot attack until your 2nd Standby Phase after this card's activation.

"Skies of Myth lets me negate your attack. Then, I can summon a Dragon from my hand. I select my Armored Wyvern!" A large armored dragon with wings descended from the skies.

Armored Wyvern  
EARTH  
Level 4  
Dragon/Effect  
ATK: 1300  
DEF: 2100  
You can switch the ATK and DEF of this card. If you activate this effect, this card is destroyed at the End Phase.

"I see…well, I set one card face-down, then end my turn."

"I draw!" I said. "I switch my Tidal Dragon to Attack Mode! Now, whenever the battle position of my Dragon changes, I get to return a card on the field to the owner's hand. So, I'll return your Thorn Dog from your field to your hand."

Tidal Dragon jumped from its defensive stance and created itself a wave to ride on. It washed Thorn Dog back to Sasha's hand.

"Now, my Armored Wyvern can't attack you, but that doesn't matter. I sacrifice my two dragons to summon my Black-Eyes Gray Dragon!"

Black-Eyes Gray Dragon  
DARK  
Level 8  
Dragon  
ATK: 2900  
DEF: 2400

"Now, I play the Spell, Grudge Inferno!"

Grudge Inferno  
Spell/Normal  
Activate only when you control one face-up "Black-Eyes Gray Dragon". Your opponent discards their entire hand and takes 1000 damage. You cannot conduct your Battle Phase during this turn.

"Now, you lose all cards in your hand and 1000 Life Points!"

"Ugh, no!"

My Black-Eyes Gray Dragon shot a wave of black flames at Sasha. Her hand was forced to be sent to the Graveyard.

Scott: 4000 L.P.  
Sasha: 3000 L.P.

"Now, I can't attack, so I'll set a card face-down and end my turn."

"I draw!" she said. "I activate my face-down card, Uproot!"

Uproot  
Trap/Continuous  
Special Summon one Plant-Type monster in your Graveyard in face-up Attack Position. When this card is removed from the field, destroy the Special Summoned monster. If the Special Summoned monster is removed from the field, destroy this card.

"Now, I'll bring back a card you discarded with your Grudge Inferno; Serpent of Thorns!" A large snake with multiple thorns burst from the ground.

Serpent of Thorns  
EARTH  
Level 7  
Plant/Effect  
ATK: 2200  
DEF: 2200  
You can Tribute this card to Special Summon up to two Plant-Type monsters from the Graveyard. Those monsters cannot attack during the turn this card's effect was activated.

"Now, I'll activate the effect of my Forest!" she said. "By sacrificing a Plant-Type monster I control, I can place Thorn Counters on my Forest equal to the Level of the monster I sacrificed. So, I'll sacrifice my Serpent of Thorns to get 7 counters!"

Serpent of Thorns shattered. The thorns around the forest expanded.

"Now, from my hand, I Special Summon my Thorn Lord in Attack Mode!" A large sage enveloped in vines stormed the field.

Thorn Lord  
EARTH  
Level 8  
Plant/Effect  
ATK: ?  
DEF: ?  
This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card can only be Special Summoned when there are 8 or more Thorn Counters on "Poison Thorn Forest". The ATK and DEF of this card are each equal to the number of Thorn Counters on the field x 300 points. You can remove 3 Thorn Counters from your side of the field to destroy one monster on the field. If you activate this effect, this card cannot attack this turn.

"Now, my Thorn Lord gets 300 attack points for each Thorn Counter on the field, plus 300 for being a plant!"

Thorn Lord:  
ATK: 3900  
DEF: 3600

"Now, I'll activate my Thorn Lord's effect. By giving up 3 of my own Thorn Counters and my Thorn Lord's ability to attack this turn, I can destroy your Dragon!" Thorn Lord raised its hand. The spiked vines on the end of its hand extended, aiming for my dragon.

"Not so fast, Sasha!" I said. "Activate my face-down card, Mythic Mirror!" A mirror appeared in front of my dragon, blocking the vines.

Mythic Mirror  
Trap/Counter  
Activate when your opponent targets one face-up Dragon-Type monster on your side of the field with the effect of a card. Select one other appropriate target on the field and have the effect target that card instead.

"Now, my Mirror will reflect the attack to your Plant Lord, destroying it!"

The vines that were extending from Plant Lord bent to attack it instead, destroying it.

"No, my Plant Lord!" she said. "Grr…I have no other cards in my hand, so I have to end my turn."

"I draw!" I said. "Activate Stamping Destruction!"

Stamping Destruction  
Spell/Normal  
Activate only when you control one face-up Dragon-Type monster. Destroy 1 Spell or Trap Card on the field and inflict 500 damage to your opponent.

"My Stamping Destruction lets my Dragon destroy your forest, then inflict 500 damage to your Life Points!"

"…No…I lost…" she said.

Black-Eyes Gray Dragon took low flight as it jumped, then stopped flapping its wings, working with gravity to crash to the ground and shatter the forest surrounding my Dragon.

"Now, to finish this!" I said. "Go, Black-Eyes Gray Dragon! Attack for the win!"

Black-Eyes Gray Dragon released a wave of dark flames, which hit Sasha.

Scott: 4000 L.P.  
Sasha: 0 L.P.

"Wow…" she said, completely taken aback. "You are a seriously skilled competitor."

"Thank you, Sasha. I appreciate the compliment." I answered.

"Well, as per the rules of the tournament, I have to give you my only Locator Card, as well as my Plant Lord, my rarest card."

"I need the Locator Card, but please, I ask you…" I stopped. "You challenged me. I never wanted your rare cards. I work for Industrial Illusions; I have access to any card I want. Please, keep your Plant Lord. You need it for your deck to work."

"Thank you, Scott." she said, handing me her Locator Card.

"That's four." the Spirit of the Gauntlets said. "Two more should give us enough to enter the finals."

"Yeah…" I said to the Spirit. "Then, we can defeat Marik himself."

"So, Scott…" Sasha said. "I need your help, especially now that I'm out of the tournament. Will you take me to the Industrial Illusions lab? I'd like to apply for a job there as a card designer…"

"Oh, certainly…" I said. She hopped on my bike as I sped off towards home.

"Master Scott!" Croquet said. "You're back early, sir…"

"My friend here would like to apply for a job." I said.

"What's your name, dear?" Croquet asked.

"Sasha Ferra is my name." she replied. "I'm not much of a duelist, but I'm a budding card designer. It's what I want to do."

"I see…well, let me take you inside." he said, taking her inside.

"I have to get back to the tournament." I said. "Good luck getting the job, Sasha."

"Thank you, Scott!" she said. "Good luck in the tournament!"

"Thank you…" I said, speeding off into the distance.


	12. The Dragon's Den! Scott vs Zelos!

It was still relatively early, so I headed back to the center of the city

It was still relatively early, so I headed back to the center of the city. There, I saw a duel already underway between two young men. One was a green-haired man who looked like the spitting image of Link with the way he wore green and brown clothes. The other was a shorter boy with a much nerdier sense of style. The crowd was rooting for the green-haired guy, and he was winning.

"Link": 1800 L.P.  
"Nerd": 300 L.P.

"You've got no Spell or Trap Cards on the field, and your monsters are powerless before my elemental monsters. Go, Polymerization!"

Polymerization  
Spell/Normal  
Send, from your hand or your side of the field, monsters who are listed as Fusion Material Monsters on a Fusion Monster to the Graveyard to Special Summon the appropriate monster from your Fusion Deck.

"I fuse my Glacier Fang and my Lava Knight to summon my Frostflare Dragon!"

Frostflare Dragon  
WATER  
Level 8  
Dragon/Fusion/Effect  
ATK: 2700  
DEF: 2100  
1 FIRE monster + 1 WATER monster

A Fusion Summon of this card can only be conducted by the above Fusion Material monsters. This card's Attribute is also treated as FIRE. When this card destroys an opponent's monster in battle, inflict damage to your opponent equal to the destroyed monster's ATK. If this card attacks, place 1 Ice Counter on each of your opponent's face-up monsters. A monster with an Ice Counter cannot attack. Remove all Ice Counters placed on the field by this card during your next Standby Phase.

"Now, Frostflare Dragon will tear through your defenses, and its effect will drain the rest of your Life Points. Go, my Dragon, attack!"

His Dragon managed to clear the field of the boy's monsters in one attack. Of course, having created Frostflare Dragon myself, I knew it couldn't attack more than once, but it managed to wipe the boy's Life Points out.

"Hahaha!" he laughed triumphantly. "Another victory!"

The boy bitterly handed over his Locator Card and his card, which I couldn't see.

"Zelos, you're the man!" said one of the boys in the crowd as the defeated boy walked off. "Nobody can stop you."

"Oh, now that's a challenge if ever I heard one." the Spirit said. "Mind if I put this little punk in his place?"

I scoffed. "Please, by all means, go ahead." I felt a rush of power as the Spirit took over.

"Hey, kid!" he yelled, pushing through the crowd. He certainly didn't mess around when it came to this sort of thing.

Eventually, he got through the crowd to the green-haired man, apparently named Zelos. "I challenge you to a duel!"

Silence fell upon the crowd. Nobody, especially Zelos, said a word. He just looked at the Spirit as if he was stupid.

"This kid's challenging Zelos?" asked one of the crowd members in disbelief.

"Hmm…" he said. "Why not?" he asked. "A new kid to crush."

"He must not know who you are." the Spirit said to me.

"All the better." I smirked. "Whip this kid for me."

"Without a doubt." he replied.

The crowd made enough room so that the two of us had enough room to duel.

"Duel!"

Scott: 4000 L.P.  
Zelos: 4000 L.P.

"Me first." the Spirit said. "I draw!" Ironic; the sixth card he drew was Solencio.

"This punk's not worth Solencio." the Spirit said. "I have another card of yours I can use, anyway…" he said, noting Dragon's Den in his hand. "I summon my Eclipse Dragon in Attack Mode!" A beautiful, but thin white dragon took the field, spreading its wings.

Eclipse Dragon  
LIGHT  
Level 4  
Dragon/Effect  
ATK: 1600  
DEF: 1100  
Discard 1 card to destroy 1 monster on the field whose Attribute is not LIGHT or DARK.

"Now, I set two cards face-down, and that should do it for me."

"I draw." he said. "I summon Typhoon Fairy in Attack Mode!"

Typhoon Fairy  
WIND  
Level 3

Fairy/Effect  
ATK: 1000  
DEF: 750  
When this card is Summoned, return one monster on the field to its owner's hand.

"Now, my Fairy's effect returns your dragon to your hand!" he said.

"Like hell I'm letting that happen." the Spirit spat back, revealing his face-down card.

Mythic Mirror  
Trap/Counter  
Activate when your opponent targets one face-up Dragon-Type monster on your side of the field with the effect of a card. Select one other appropriate target on the field and have the effect target that card instead.

"What's that?" he asked.

"I don't feel the need to explain." the Spirit spat back. "Watch and see for yourself."

The Mirror appeared in front of my Dragon. The cyclone emitted from his Fairy reflected back to it, returning it to Zelos' hand.

"Ack!" he said. "Well, that's fine; activate Polymerization!"

Polymeryzation appeared on the field.

"I fuse my Fairy with my Clay Soldier to summon my Floating Clay Fortress!"

Typhoon Fairy and Clay Soldier both appeared on the field, just in time to be sucked into Polymerization. Bursting from it was a giant fortress.

Floating Clay Fortress  
WIND  
Level 8  
Rock/Fusion/Effect  
ATK: 2000  
DEF: 3000  
1 EARTH monster + 1 WIND monster  
A Fusion Summon of this card can only be conducted by the above Fusion Material monsters. This card's Attribute is also treated as EARTH. Once per turn, you can destroy one face-up monster on the field whose ATK is less than the ATK of this card, and inflict damage to your opponent equal to the difference between this card's ATK and the destroyed monster's ATK. If you activate this card's effect, you cannot attack during this turn.

"Now, my Fortress can still destroy your monster while in Defense Mode!" he said.

"Even if," the Spirit began, "your Fortress can't attack while in Defense Mode."

"That doesn't matter." Zelos said. "Even though my effect isn't an attack, it acts like an attack, so you still take damage equal to the difference between our monsters' attack strength."

The Fortress aimed its main cannon at my Dragon. It shattered on impact.

Zelos: 4000 L.P.  
Scott: 3600 L.P.

"I then set a card face-down, and end my turn."

"I draw." the Spirit said. Perfect; he drew the one card he needed for Den. Opening his field spell slot, he declared, "I activate Dragon's Den!" A blanket of fog enveloped the field.

Dragon's Den  
Spell/Field  
Pay half your Life Points when you have no monsters on the field. Special Summon three Dragon-Type monsters from your hand in face-down Attack Position, ignoring Summoning requirements. Your opponent Special Summons the monster from their hand or Deck with the highest ATK in face-up Attack Position, ignoring Summoning requirements, and sends all other monsters they control to the Graveyard. As long as this card remains face-up on the field, neither player can Summon, you cannot declare an attack, monsters on the field cannot change their battle positions or be destroyed in any way (by battle or a card effect), and the effects of Effect monsters are negated. Your opponent must declare an attack each turn with the monster they selected for the effect of this card, and each time a monster on your side of the field is selected as an attack target, flip it face-up before damage calculation. After damage calculation, flip the attacked monster face-down and shuffle all face-down Attack Position monsters on your side of the field, then place them back on the field in face-down Attack Position.  
(A/N: I know, quite the mouthful. :#)

"Now, first and foremost, playing this card costs me half of my Life Points." the Spirit said.

Zelos: 4000 L.P.  
Scott: 1800 L.P.

"Then, I get to play three Dragons in my hand face-down, hidden in the mist. You get your strongest monster." I said.

"I play my Elemental Deity in Attack Mode!"

Elemental Deity  
LIGHT  
Level 7  
Spellcaster/Effect  
ATK: 2300  
DEF: 2200  
You can Special Summon this card from your hand if you control monsters of at least 3 different Attributes. If you Special Summon this card this way, destroy all Spell and Trap cards on the field.

"2300 attack points?" I asked, laughing. "Oh, will he be disappointed."

"He can still hit the third dragon, Scott." the Spirit said to me. "Now, for the rest." he said out loud. "Your Fortress is destroyed."

"What?!" Zelos said as his fortress was destroyed.

"Now, neither of us are able to summon, and I can't attack you. However, I don't have to worry about that; you're going to attack for me, and you can't put your Deity in Defense Mode." he said. "None of our monsters are destroyed in battle, so the field is locked the way it is. Any monster effects are also negated. So, it's purely based on the power of our monsters. You have no idea of which dragons I played. My dragons may beat your Deity's strength, but you never know…your Diety might best my dragons."

"Hmm…" he said. "Ha! You have to be kidding me."

"Keep telling yourself that." I said. "I set a card face-down, and end my turn."

"I draw!" he said. Looking over his hand, he grunted in disgust. "I can't do anything but take a shot at the dark. Go, Elemental Deity, I have no choice, so, attack!"

Elemental Deity raised its staff and fired a blast of flames into the fog. Emerging from the fog was Jade Dragon.

Jade Dragon  
WIND  
Level 8  
Dragon/Effect  
ATK: 2700  
DEF: 2200  
When this card is Tribute Summoned, destroy 1 card on the field. If the card is a Monster Card, inflict damage to your opponent equal to its ATK. If the card is a Spell or Trap Card, inflict 1000 damage to your opponent.

"No! A stronger monster!" he exclaimed.

Jade Dragon emitted a burst of fire that nullified the Deity's attack.

Zelos: 3600 L.P.  
Scott: 1800 L.P.

"Ugh." he said. "I have no choice but to end my turn."

"I draw!" the Spirit said. "Heh. I activate Mystical Space Typhoon!"

Mystical Space Typhoon  
Spell/Quick-Play  
Destroy 1 Spell or Trap Card on the field.

"Now, I destroy my own Dragon's Den." he said. The fog surrounding the field disappeared as my three dragons were revealed. Of course, Jade Dragon was there. With him were Black-Eyes and Wyvern Dragon.

Black-Eyes Gray Dragon  
DARK  
Level 8  
Dragon  
ATK: 2900  
DEF: 2400

Wyvern Dragon  
LIGHT  
Level 4  
Dragon/Effect  
ATK: 1700  
DEF: 700  
If this card destroys an opponent's monster in battle, it can attack once again in a row. This card cannot attack a player directly.

"Now, my Dragons, finish him off!" the Spirit declared. Black-Eyes stormed the field first, using its black flames to incinerate Zelos' Elemental Deity. The other two dragons swung at him directly, giving me the victory.

Scott: 1800 L.P.  
Zelos: 0 L.P.

"I win." I said.

"Ugh!" he grunted.

"Well…" the Spirit said. "Hand me your Locator Card and that kid's rare card."

"Fine." he said. He handed the Spirit the two cards as the Spirit walked off.

"Here." he said as I got my body back.

I decided to look for the kid who just lost. It didn't take me long to find him.

"Here, young man." I said, handing him the rare card Zelos took from him. "Zelos took this card from you, correct?"

"That's right." he said, taking his card. "Thank you!"

"You're welcome." I said. "I couldn't help but put that punk in his place." I then left, saying, "Watch out for those people, kid."


	13. Retreiving the Eye! Scott vs Yami Bakura

After beating Zelos, I saw that I had 5 Locator Cards

After beating Zelos, I saw that I had 5 Locator Cards. One more would give me a spot in the finals.

However, that was a bit further from my mind than my own efforts.

"Spirit…" I said. "Do you know who might have stolen the Millennium Eye?"

"Well, think of it this way." the Spirit replied. "Who all went to Duelist Kingdom?"

"Only one way to find out." I said. "I have to ask Yugi or Joey."

I wandered the city, trying to get directions to where Yugi was. Eventually, I managed to find the Pharaoh.

"Greetings, Pharaoh." I said. "I'm trying to figure out who stole it. To figure it out, I need a list of people who joined the tournament at Duelist Kingdom."

"Well…" the Pharaoh thought. "I can only think of one person. Bakura, or rather, the spirit in his Millennium Ring."

"I would like to retrieve the Eye." I said. "Would you please point me in his direction?"

"He hurt himself earlier today." the Pharaoh replied. "He's resting at the hospital now."

"I see." I said. "Thank you, Pharaoh." I walked off towards the hospital.

As I arrived, I found Bakura there. However, the Spirit decided to take over.

"I know this one." he said. "He's extremely evil, a very wicked spirit. It's best I make sure you're safe while I deal with him."

As the Spirit stepped inside, things began to feel weird. All of a sudden, everything froze. Time itself had stopped moving, and as the Spirit stepped inside, the people didn't even move.

"I sense a power that I recognize from this room." he said. "Now, I'm going to search him." He dug in Bakura's pockets to check for the Millennium Eye, and eventually found it.

"It's the Eye!" I said.

"Ugh!" he grunted in pain. "We have to get out of here…now!"

He ran outside as I was given control of my body.

"Scott, quick!" the Spirit said. "We have to get out of the area before Bakura notices we took the Eye back."

"I'm not going to question the urgency of the situation." I said. I got on my bike, speeding off towards home.

"Croquet!" I said as I arrived at home. "I have retrieved Father's Eye!"

"The Millennium Eye? You…got it back?" he asked in disbelief.

"Indeed." I said.

"Scott…he's found us out…" the Spirit said.

"!!"

No sooner had I realized it as he appeared at my doorstep.

"You stole my Eye…" he said, enraged.

"This Eye belongs to my father." I said. "If you want it back, you'll have to duel me."

"Ack, Scott…!" The Spirit took over my body just as Bakura rose his hand. Time slowed as the Spirit dodged the wave of energy unleashed at him.

As time returned to normal, Bakura spoke up. "So, you do wield one of the Shadow Items. Interesting…let's see you defeat me." He then snapped his fingers. Our surroundings disappeared as we were surrounded by a large field of purple haze.

"The Shadow Realm…" the Spirit said.

"Ready to die, spirit?" he laughed maniacally.

"I don't think so." the Spirit said as he armed his Duel Disk.

"Duel!"

Bakura: 4000 L.P.  
Scott: 4000 L.P.

"I'll go first." the Spirit said. "I summon my Summoner Dragon in Defense Mode!" A small dragon appeared on the field.

Summoner Dragon  
WIND  
Level 3  
Dragon/Effect  
ATK: 1200  
DEF: 600  
Once per turn, you are allowed an extra Normal Summon or Set of a Dragon-Type monster while this card remains face-up on your side of the field.

"Now, with the effect of my Dragon, I can Special Summon my Armored Wyvern, also in Defense Mode!" A wingless dragon clad in large, heavy armor stormed the field, taking a defensive stance.

Armored Wyvern  
EARTH  
Level 4  
Dragon/Effect  
ATK: 1300  
DEF: 2100  
You can switch the ATK and DEF of this card. If you activate this effect, this card is destroyed at the End Phase.

"Now, I end my turn." the Spirit said.

"I draw!" he said. "I summon my Headless Knight in Attack Mode!" A possessed suit of armor appeared on the field.

Headless Knight  
EARTH  
Level 4  
Warrior

ATK: 1400  
DEF: 1700

"Now, Headless Knight, attack his Summoner Dragon!"

"You've triggered the effect of my monster!" the Spirit said. A third dragon, this one a light blue one, appeared on the field.

Substitute Dragon  
LIGHT  
Level 4  
Dragon/Effect  
ATK: 2000  
DEF: 1000  
This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card can only be Special Summoned during your opponent's Battle Phase. When your opponent declares an attack, Special Summon this card from your hand and have it be declared as the attack target. A monster this card battles is not destroyed in battle, and the Battle Damage this card inflicts to your opponent is halved.

"What?" he asked.

"My Substitute Dragon is summoned from my hand when you declare an attack. It becomes the target of the attack, and while your Knight is saved and you take half of the damage you normally would, my Summoner Dragon is saved as well." the Spirit said.

The Headless Knight attempted to attack my Summoner Dragon, but my Substitute Dragon blocked the attack. The Knight's sword bounced off of my Dragon, sending it reeling back.

Bakura: 3700 L.P.  
Scott: 4000 L.P.

"I set one card face-down, then end my turn." he said.

"I draw!" the Spirit said. "Activate Stamping Destruction!"

Stamping Destruction  
Spell/Normal  
Activate only when you control at least 1 face-up Dragon-Type monster. Destroy 1 Spell or Trap Card on the field, and inflict 500 damage to the card's controller.

"Now, I get to destroy your face-down, and you lose 500 Life Points!" the Spirit said. Bakura's face-down Mirror Force shattered.

Bakura: 3500 L.P.  
Scott: 4000 L.P.

"I now activate the effect of my Armored Wyvern! I get to swap its attack and defense points!" The Spirit's Wyvern shed its armor, bringing its attack power to 2100, and dropping its defense to 1300.

"Now, I sacrifice my three dragons to summon The Arbiter-Solencio!" The winds of sacrifice enveloped my three monsters, and Solencio stormed the field.

The Arbiter-Solencio  
DIVINE  
Level 10  
Divine Beast/Effect  
ATK: ?  
DEF: ?  
This card can only be Tribute Summoned by Tributing 3 monsters on your side of the field. This card is unaffected by the effects of Trap Cards. The effect of any Spell Card that this card is effected by is negated at the End Phase of that Spell Card's activation. The ATK and DEF of this card are each equal to the total ATK and DEF of the monsters Tributed to Tribute Summon this card. By decreasing the ATK of this card by 1000, destroy one card on the field. Tribute a monster on your side of the field to increase the ATK of this card by the ATK of the Tributed monster. Each time your opponent attacks a monster on your side of the field other than this card, that monster is destroyed after damage calculation.

Solencio:  
ATK: 5300  
DEF: 2900

Bakura gasped. "An Egyptian God…"

"I now activate my Solencio's effect." the Spirit said. "By giving up 1000 of its attack points, it can destroy your Knight!" Completely unnecessary, but nonetheless, Solencio smashed its fist on the Headless Knight, shattering it. Its attack power dropped by 4300, but that was enough. "Go, Solencio, end this with Gavel Fist!" Solencio swung at Bakura, knocking him out.

Bakura: 0 L.P.  
Scott: 4000 L.P.

"That was easy…" I said as the shadowy haze disappeared, and things returned to normal.

"Ugh…" Bakura said, with a much lighter tone in his voice. "What…happened?" He looked at me. His expression was much lighter as well.

"I just defeated the evil spirit within you in a duel, young man." the Spirit said.

"Evil spirit?" he asked. "And why am I wearing a Duel Disk?" he asked, taking the disk off. With it was one Locator Card. "Here…since you beat me, you can have this old thing." He gave me the Locator Card.

The Spirit then looked at his arm. It was wrapped in a lot of bandages.

"It looks like you need to be taken back to the hospital." the Spirit said.

"Yes…that would be great…" he said.

"Croquet, bring this young man to the hospital, would you?" I asked.

"Yes, sir." he said. "Come with me, young man…" He gestured to Bakura, getting him in one of the Industrial Illusions limos and heading to the hospital.

"Scott…" the Spirit said to me. "We have 6 Locator Cards…" He took them all out. Stacking them, he noticed the bit in each stacked nicely, to create a portion of the map of Domino. The map led to a location that I was aware of.

"We should get going as soon as possible." I said. "Mind if I take over to get us there?"

"No problem." the Spirit said, allowing me to regain control of my body.

I hopped on my bike, fastening my helmet on (A/N: Wear a helmet if you're riding a bike! :D) as I headed towards the location.


	14. Battle City Finals! Scott vs Marik

I eventually arrived at the location

I eventually arrived at the location. Strangely, Kaiba and Mokuba weren't there.

"Greetings, duelist." one of the KaibaCorp employees said to me. "Congratulations on finding the arena of the Battle City finals. I trust that you have six Locator Cards?"

"Indeed I do." I said, presenting my six Locator Cards to him. As I did, Kaiba, Mokuba, Yugi, Joey, and their friends entered.

"Scott!" Yugi said. "Oh my God, I'm glad to see that you've made it out alive!"

"What do you mean by that?" I asked.

"Marik's been coming up with every scheme he could to kill me and Kaiba…" he said. "Boy, right after I talked to you, things really started to get crazy!"

"Well, glad to see that you're still alive…" I said. "However, Marik's gotta show himself here if he wants to kill you…"

"Point taken. I guess…we wait, now."

After Yugi, Kaiba and Joey each presented their six Locator Cards, we boarded the ship. We each got our own rooms, with the exception of Joey, who was forced to share his room with all of their friends.

"Interesting." I said. "Tonight, we finally get to see Marik…"

"I will destroy that insolent fool for his betrayal of the Pharaoh." the Spirit said.

We waited around for a while until we were eventually called up to start the quarterfinals.

"The first match…Yugi versus Mai!" the emcee said.

The two got on the dueling platform as they extended their Duel Disks.

"Duel!"

Yugi: 4000 L.P.  
Mai: 4000 L.P.

(A/N: I don't want to really do the matches that don't involve me; I forget most of what is played in the anime at this season, since I haven't watched it in over three years.)

Eventually, Yugi won using a strange creature that I've never seen before, Slifer the Sky Dragon. The Spirit identified it as one of the Egyptian God Cards.

"Congratulations to the victor, Yugi Moto!" the emcee said. Yugi's friends cheered for him as he left the dueling platform. "The second match…Scott versus Marik!"

"!!" I was surprised; I got to fight Marik already. I boarded the dueling platform, and Marik followed directly after. He was a rather large man, with a black ponytail and Egyptian hieroglyphics tattooed on his face. He held the Millennium Rod in one hand.

"Greetings, Scott." he said. "Are you ready for your final duel?"

"Don't mind me, Spirit, but I'd like to take him on myself." I said to the Spirit. "I have more experience at Duel Monsters, and if you were to lose, there's no telling what Marik could do to you."

"I see your point, Scott." the Spirit replied. "Be careful."

"You know, Marik, I'm quite the lucky man…" I said. "I relish the challenge of taking you down myself!"

"Fool." he replied. "You have no chance of defeating the Winged Dragon of Ra, the most powerful Egyptian God Card of all!"

"That's what you think." I retorted. "Your reign of destruction ends here!"

"Duel!"

Marik: 4000 L.P.  
Scott: 4000 L.P.

"Me first." Marik said. "I set two cards face-down, and end my turn."

"No monsters, huh?" I said. "I draw!" Looking over my hand, I had to check his field. One of Marik's face-down cards had to be able to do something; however, I cared little; I had a good defense, and I wasn't about to let this opportunity pass. "I summon Twinlance Dragon in Attack Mode!"

Twinlance Dragon  
WIND  
Level 3  
Dragon/Effect  
ATK: 1200  
DEF: 400  
This card can attack twice in the same Battle Phase. During battle between this attacking card and an opponent's Defense Position monster whose DEF is lower than the ATK of this card, inflict the difference as Battle Damage to your opponent.

"Now, Twinlance Dragon, attack him directly!"

"Ha!" he said. "You've fallen into my trap! Activate my two Embodiment of Apophis!"

Embodiment of Apophis  
Trap/Continuous  
After activation, this card is treated as a Monster Card (EARTH, Level 4, Reptile, ATK/1600, DEF/1800) and it is Special Summoned in face-up Attack Position. (It is still treated as a Trap Card.)  
(A/N: Am I missing something on this? :S)

"Now, my Dragon calls off its attack because you summoned a new monster when it was attacking." I said. "Now, I'll move to Main Phase 2, setting a face-down of my own and ending my turn."

"I draw!" Marik said. He then began to laugh maniacally. "I activate Temple of the Kings!" He placed the card in his field spell zone. A large Egyptian temple appeared behind him.

Temple of the Kings (unsure on this :S)  
Spell/Field  
During your Main Phase, you can Special Summon one monster from your hand in face-down Defense Position, regardless of Summoning conditions. That monster cannot be selected as an attack target by your opponent's monsters, and at any time during either player's turn, you can flip the Special Summoned monster into face-up Attack Position by paying half of your Life Points and Tributing 1 face-up "Mystical Beast Serket" that you control. You can only control one monster Special Summoned by this effect at a time.

"Now, I set one card face-down, and activate Cup of Sealed Souls!"

Cup of Sealed Souls  
Spell/Normal  
Activate only when there is a face-up "Temple of the Kings" on your side of the field and a face-down "Seal of Serket" on your side of the field. Special Summon 1 "Mystical Beast Serket" from your hand or Deck.

"Now, my Cup of Sealed Souls works with my face-down card, Seal of Serket!" he said, revealing his face-down card. "When I have these two cards, along with the Temple of the Kings, I'm allowed to summon my Mystical Beast Serket!" A large scorpion appeared on the field.

Mystical Beast Selket  
EARTH  
Level 7  
Insect/Effect  
ATK: 2500  
DEF: 2200  
Each time this card destroys a monster in battle, increase the ATK of this card by an amount equal to half the ATK of the destroyed monster.

"!!" I was surprised to see him summon such a powerful card in one turn. He had the power to reduce my Life Points to zero right now.

"Now, my Beast, attack his Twinlance Dragon!"

"I activate my face-down card; Berserk Mirror!"

Berserk Mirror  
Trap/Normal  
Activate when your opponent declares an attack. Inflict damage to your opponent equal to half the ATK of the attacking monster, and cut the ATK of the attacking monster in half during the Damage Step only.

"Now, my Mirror cuts your beast's strength in half, and you lose Life Points equal to half of your monster's attack strength!" I said as a mirror appeared.

"That doesn't matter!" Marik said. "Even with its attack power cut in half, my monster is still stronger than your dragon!"

The Mystical Beast shattered the mirror as it ate my Dragon.

"What the-?!" I exclaimed. "It…ate my Twinlance Dragon?"

Marik: 2750 L.P.  
Scott: 3950 L.P.

"Now, my Beast's ability activates!" Marik said. "It absorbs your monster, getting half of its power with it!" His beast changed shape, morphing its figure to that of my Twinlance Dragon.

Mystical Beast Serket  
ATK: 3100  
DEF: 2200

"Now, you're wide open!" he said. "Go, my Embodiments of Apophis! Attack him directly!" The two snakes attacked me, nearly taking out all of my Life Points.

Marik: 2750 L.P.  
Scott: 750 L.P.

He laughed maniacally. "You have no chance of victory now, fool! Give up!" He played one card face-down and ended his turn.

"You must be delirious." I said. "I draw!" I then laughed. "Now, Marik, I have a request of you."

"What is it?" he asked, uninterested.

"I think it would be a lot of fun if you and I had a duel of the Egyptian Gods, would you not agree?"

Yugi and his friends gasped.

"A…duel of the gods?" the Pharaoh asked.

"Indeed." I said. "Would it not be a proper match, considering each of us are skilled enough to wield them? We should embrace the skills we each have, don't you agree?"

He stood there for a while, non-responsive.

"…Well?"

After a while, he finally spoke up. "You're on, Scott!"

I laughed. "That took you long enough…Well, pardon my banter; on with my turn!" I said. I held up one of my cards. "I activate the Spell Card, Call of Myth!"

Call of Myth  
Spell/Normal  
Special Summon one Dragon-Type monster from your Graveyard in face-up Defense Position. The Special Summoned monster cannot change its battle position.

"Now, my Spell Card revives my Twinlance Dragon in Defense Mode!" I said as my Dragon reappeared on the field. "Now, I summon my Storm Dragon in Defense Mode!" A large dragon with giant wings appeared on the field.

Storm Dragon  
WIND  
Level 4  
Dragon/Effect  
ATK: 1700  
DEF: 1000  
When this card is destroyed in battle, destroy one Spell or Trap Card on the field.

"Now, I set one card face-down and end my turn." I said.

"This is the end!" he said, drawing his card. "Now, if it's a battle of the gods you want, I might as well seal my Egyptian God Card in the sanctuary in the back of my Temple!" He opened his field spell slot, putting a face-down on top of it. The card sank into a tomb in the back of the temple.

"Ah, yes…the Winged Dragon of Ra." I said. "Marvelous."

"It's too bad that you won't even be able to see it!" he exclaimed. "Go, my Beast, destroy his Storm Dragon!" His evolved scorpion charged at my dragon. However, I had other plans.

"I activate Roar of Armies!"

Roar of Armies  
Trap/Continuous  
As long as you control at least one monster, and your opponent controls more monsters than you, monsters you control are not destroyed in battle, and you take no Battle Damage. When your opponent declares an attack, they can Special Summon one monster from their hand at the end of the Damage Step. During your Standby Phase, Tribute 1 monster or destroy this card.

"Now, your monster doesn't get to destroy my monster in battle, so your Serket can't evolve!" I said. "The thing is, you're now able to Special Summon a monster from your hand."

"Curses!" he said. "I have no targets to summon, therefore I have nothing left to do. I end my turn."

"I draw!" I said. "Now, I am faced with a choice. Either I tribute a monster or rid myself of my Roar of Armies. I require my Roar of Armies, so I'll tribute my Twinlance Dragon to keep it in play. Now, I play my Summoner Dragon in Defense Mode!"

Summoner Dragon  
WIND  
Level 3  
Dragon/Effect  
ATK: 1200  
DEF: 600  
Once per turn, the controller of this card is allowed an extra Normal Summon or Set of a Dragon-Type monster.

"So, I now activate my Dragon's effect to summon my Eclipse Dragon in Defense Mode!"

Eclipse Dragon  
LIGHT  
Level 4  
Dragon/Effect  
ATK: 1600  
DEF: 1100  
Discard 1 card to destroy a face-up monster whose Attribute is not LIGHT or DARK.

"Now, I play the effect of my Eclipse Dragon!" I declared. "By discarding 1 card, I can destroy your Selket!"

"Not so fast!" Marik said. "Activate my face-down card; Brave Substitution!" (A/N: Possibly the only time I make up a card for someone else.)

Brave Substitution  
Trap/Counter  
Activate when your opponent targets a card you control with the effect of a card. Switch the target to another appropriate target on your side of the field.

"Now, I'm able to switch the effect of your Dragon to my Embodiment, destroying it instead!"

Eclipse Dragon fired a beam from its mouth, destroying his Embodiment of Apophis.

"Now, I end my turn." I said.

"I draw." he said.

"Now, Marik…" I said. "Next turn, you and I will have an epic battle of the gods!"

The onlookers gasped. I looked on; the Pharaoh and his friends were shocked, but Kaiba looked excited.

"I suppose I await until you summon your God Card." he said. "I end my turn."

"I draw." I said. "I now have to pay the upkeep of Roar of Armies…or do I? I have no further need for it, so I'll rid myself of it. Now, to activate the effect of my Summoner Dragon! With it, I'll summon my Armored Wyvern in Attack Mode!"

Armored Wyvern  
EARTH  
Level 4  
Dragon/Effect  
ATK: 1300  
DEF: 2100  
You can switch the ATK and DEF of this card during your Main Phase. Destroy this card at the End Phase of the turn you activated this effect.

"Now, I first activate my Wyvern's effect to switch its attack and defense points." I said. My Dragon burst out of its armor, growing in power. "Now, for the moment you've all been waiting for! I sacrifice my Armored Wyvern, my Eclipse Dragon, and my Storm Dragon to summon the monster that will determine the fate of the world; The Arbiter-Solencio!" The winds of sacrifice enveloped my three dragons, and Solencio stormed the field.

The Arbiter-Solencio  
DIVINE  
Level 10  
Divine Beast/Effect  
ATK: ?  
DEF: ?  
This card can only be Tribute Summoned by Tributing 3 monsters on your side of the field. This card is unaffected by the effects of Trap Cards. The effect of any Spell Card that this card is effected by is negated at the End Phase of that Spell Card's activation. The ATK and DEF of this card are each equal to the total ATK and DEF of the monsters Tributed to Tribute Summon this card. By decreasing the ATK of this card by 1000, destroy one card on the field. Tribute a monster on your side of the field to increase the ATK of this card by the ATK of the Tributed monster. Each time your opponent attacks a monster on your side of the field other than this card, that monster is destroyed after damage calculation.

Solencio:  
ATK: 5400  
DEF: 3400

"Now…" I said. "I challenge you, Marik; release your Egyptian God, or be defeated at the hands of mine!"

"Arrgh…" he growled. "I don't need my Winged Dragon of Ra to defeat you!"

"Is that so?" I said. "Remember, I still control my Summoner Dragon and Solencio. Either I can attack your Embodiment, giving you 3800 damage, or use its power, crush both of your monsters, and attack you directly for 4600 damage. So, what will it be?"

He didn't answer me. He instead looked on, shocked.

"You know what?" I said. "I'll allow you to decide. Activate Blazing Fury!"

Blazing Fury  
Spell/Normal  
Activate only when you control at least 1 face-up Dragon-Type monster. Destroy all Spell and Trap Cards on the field, and inflict 500 damage to your opponent for each of your opponent's cards destroyed by this effect. You cannot conduct your Battle Phase during the turn you activated this card.

"Now, my Summoner Dragon is allowed to destroy your Embodiment, as well as your Temple! So, either you summon Ra, or it is devoured by the fires of Blazing Fury!"

"Arrgh…fine!" he said. "I sacrifice my Mystical Beast Serket and half of my Life Points to summon the beast of your demise; the Winged Dragon of Ra!"

Marik: 1375 L.P.  
Scott: 750 L.P.

As the flames enveloped his temple, an aura shook it. The tablet shook as the Winged Dragon of Ra emerged from it. However, the temple and the Embodiment of Apophis burned in the flames.

Marik: 375 L.P.  
Scott: 750 L.P.

"Well, well…" I said as the two Egyptian God Cards looked at each other.

Winged Dragon of Ra:  
ATK: 3100  
DEF: 2500

"It seems my Arbiter surpasses your Dragon in strength!" I said. "So, I'll destroy it here and now! I give up 1000 of Solencio's attack points. In return, Ra is destroyed!"

Solencio gathered power in its fist. It swung at Ra, but something happened. The fist went right through Ra.

"What the-?!" I said.

He gasped as well. "You…fool! My Egyptian God Card cannot be destroyed by…a puny effect like that?" His haste made me wonder…

"Scott…" the Spirit said. "I have witnessed the power of the Winged Dragon of Ra for myself. The Winged Dragon is able to be destroyed by Solencio's ability. There is only one explanation…Scott, attempt the effect once again."

"It didn't work?" I asked, trying to cover my plan. "Solencio, try again!" Solencio gathered 1000 of its attack points in its fist, and attempted to swing at Ra again, but failed. It now stood at 3400 attack points.

"Scott, make it weaker than Ra. We will test Ra's identity by having it attack."

"Arrgh…this is preposterous!" I yelled. "Ra should be destroyed! Solencio, let's make the third time the charm!" Solencio swung a third time. Again, nothing.

"Damn it!" I said. "Now Solencio is weaker than Ra…there's nothing I can do. I have made a grave error…" God, was that bad acting on my part. "Go on, finish me off. I end my turn."

Odion stood there for a while. I don't know if he was slow or something, but he paused for a long while before drawing his card. "Winged Dragon of Ra, I command thee! Destroy Solencio and end this duel!" he commanded. The Winged Dragon of Ra roared…and did nothing else.

"As I expected…" the Spirit said.

"What are you doing, Ra?" he said. "Attack him now!"

Again, Ra did nothing. It even began to dissolve as my Millennium Gauntlets began to shake.

"The power of the gods…" the Spirit said. "Something's wrong!"

"What the-?!" I exclaimed. Immediately after, Solencio roared. Thunderbolts began to strike the field. "What's going on?"

"Scott!" The Spirit decided to take over. He stood there defensively until he sensed a lightning bolt about to strike. He slowed time to dodge it.

"Marik!" the Spirit yelled. "Tell me what's going on, now!"

Marik didn't answer. He stood there as more thunderbolts began to strike the field. Eventually, one struck him, destroying his fake Millennium Rod and causing him to fall to the floor.

"Marik!" the Spirit yelled.

However, the Spirit had little time to worry about that, as another thunderbolt was set to strike him. He had to slow time to dodge it.

"Solencio!" the Spirit yelled. "Calm down this carbon copy of the Winged Dragon of Ra by destroying it!"

Solencio swung its fist into the Winged Dragon of Ra. The attack didn't destroy it, but managed to reduce Marik's Life Points to zero, ending the duel.

Marik: 0 L.P.  
Scott: 750 L.P.

"The winner of this duel is…Scott Pegasus!" the emcee said.

As the dueling platform lowered, the Spirit ran over to Marik.

"I am sorry, Scott…" he said. "I have deceived you…into believing that I am Marik."

"Deceived?" the Spirit asked. "So…you're not Marik."

"I am only a humble servant to…" He gestured over to another man on the sidelines. "the real…Marik…"

The man on the sidelines was a tall young man with a dark skin tone to him. He had very light brown hair, but I couldn't see his face due to the fact that he was clutching it with his hands. In one of those hands was the Millennium Rod.

"That's Marik?" I asked.

"You must…stop him…my master has a dark side that none of you know about, one that puts you all in grave danger!" he said before passing out.

I looked over at the real Marik. He was clutching his head, growling in pain.

"Yes, you fools. I am Marik." he said. "And I will DESTROY YOU ALL-Arrgh!" He clutched his head again, groaning in pain. Eventually, he screamed in pain, and finally stopped. He brought his head down, but had a much more demonic expression on it. He also had a strange eye on his forehead.

"Wonderful…" he said. "With Odion out of commission, I am now free from bondage."

"It's…the spirit of the Millennium Rod." the Spirit said.

"Indeed." Marik said. "While my weaker half merely toyed with you mortals, I dislike such snide and unnecessary tactics. I prefer a much darker approach to things."

"What are you talking about, Marik?" the Pharaoh asked.

"Oh, wouldn't you like to find out, Pharaoh." he said. "I will destroy you all, all of the other spirits of the Shadow Items, and take the Pharaoh's power to use for myself! And with all the Egyptian God Cards, I will rule the world! HAHAHAHAHAHA!" With that, he left the field.

"…"


	15. The Duel To Determine The Duels!

Chapter 15

So sorry that I haven't updated this in a really long time. Haven't been inspired...:\

* * *

After I defeated Odion, who entered the tournament as Marik, the real Marik was revealed, but the spirit within his Millennium Rod had taken over his mind. Odion warned me that we were all in danger, but I didn't know how bad it was going to be until he was the next duelist called to fight. He was going up against Joey, and it certainly was proven quite clearly, as Marik defeated Joey with relative ease, using the special powers of the Winged Dragon of Ra to crush all of Joey's monsters. We were awe-stricken at its power, and after his victory, Marik's spirit sealed Joey's mind in the Shadow Realm. Yugi and I couldn't do a thing to stop him, unfortunately.

The final duel was Kaiba versus the mystery duelist. However, not only did it take the duelist an absurdly long time to make it to the dueling platform, but their identity shocked everyone.

"Your name, please." Roland asked.

"You may call me Ishizu." she replied. "Ishizu Ishtar."

"Ishizu?!" I asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Humph." Kaiba scoffed. "Knowing her, she's here to take back the card she gave to me; Obelisk the Tormentor."

"You may believe what you want, Kaiba." Ishizu said. "I am here to serve a much greater purpose." She looked over to the possessed Marik. "I'm here to free my brother from the evil that controls him."

"Evil?" I asked.

"The spirit of the Millennium Rod--Marik's darker half--has taken over his mind, and if it is not stopped, that spirit will destroy everything in its path!" she replied.

"You say that like it's a bad thing." Marik chimed.

"Marik won't be destroying anything!" Kaiba said. "Before long, three of the Egyptian Gods will belong to me!"

"Duel!"

Kaiba and Ishizu fought a long, hard battle. Eventually, Kaiba won by using his Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

"The winner of this duel is...Mr. Seto Kaiba!" Roland declared. (Author's Note: I honestly don't want to write these duels out, as they'd just be the same duels as from the anime. Consider them as such.) "And thus concludes Round 1 of the Battle City finals! Round 2 will begin tomorrow on KaibaCorp Island!"

"Scott..." the Spirit of the Gauntlets said.

"What's up?" I asked him.

"Are you sure we can defeat Marik?" he asked. "I mean, we witnessed firsthand just what the Winged Dragon of Ra is capable of. I'm not so sure we have what it takes to defeat it..."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked. "Are you not confident enough in my skills at the game of Duel Monsters?"

"I just want you to take a step back, and I want you to be sure you know what you're up against." he said sternly. "Let us assume that you face Marik in the semi-finals of the tournament. Are you confident that Solencio's power is enough to defeat Ra?"

I drew the card from my deck, looking at it. Hesitating, I told the Spirit, "I'm...not sure it is..."

"Well, don't worry, Scott." he said. "If the need arises, I have a plan..."

We all slept soundly that night, making sure to get as much sleep as possible before tomorrow. However, I managed to alter my strategy for the finals.

When we awoke, we arrived on KaibaCorp Island shortly after. (Author's Note: the VR arc was a giant waste of time, and with Joey gone, it's pointless to do it anyway)

"Welcome, duelists, to KaibaCorp Island." Roland declared. "Here, Round 2 of the Battle City finals will be played out, and the winner of the Battle City tournament will be decided!"

"And gentlemen...that'll be me." Kaiba declared. Yugi, Marik and I scoffed.

"Please enter the Duel Tower so we can proceed to the semi-finals." Roland said.

The four of us, followed by Yugi's friends, Mokuba and Roland, all entered the tower. It was a large, open area with four doors.

"Now, would the four semi-finalists, Yugi, Kaiba, Marik, and Scott, each please select one door and walk through it." Roland ordered. Each of us selected a corner and entered the door. There was a dueling platform there. That was strange. Regardless, I stood on the platform as it began to rise. Eventually, all four of us were in platforms level to each other. I noticed a marker that read "4000" next to all the platforms, and markers in increments of 1000 higher up in the tower.

"As you can already guess, the four of you are going to participate in a special duel." Roland said. "It will be a four-person free-for-all, with each player recieving 4000 Life Points. Each player can attack any opponent they wish. But this duel will not determine the placement of any of the finalists; this duel is merely to determine who faces who in the semi-finals. The first two duelists whose Life Points reach zero will face off in the first match of the semi-finals. The two remaining duelists will face off in the second match. Let me reitterate that this duel does not reflect on your overall placement in the tournament; it is merely a bonus duel to determine the opponents of the semi-finals."

So, each of us gets to pick who we fight in the semi-finals. I knew one thing for sure: I couldn't risk Yugi fighting Marik. If Yugi loses, then Marik will not only send the Pharaoh to the Shadow Realm, but he'll take his Millennium Puzzle along with his Egyptian God Card. Four of the Egyptian Gods are here, one belonging to each duelist. I could fight Yugi in the semi-finals, and win Slifer from him. Slifer and Solencio would certainly allow me to defeat Ra, but if Marik fought Kaiba, he'd win Obelisk, and I can't let that happen; I would barely have the firepower to defeat Ra, let alone Obelisk. That left me with one choice; I would have to fight Marik. And I'd use the Spirit's plan to ensure Marik loses.

I also had to take the motives of the others into account. I'm certain that Yugi and Kaiba have their sights set on one of the "weaker" Egyptian Gods, so a duel with Marik is out of the question for either of them. Knowing the two of them, they'd likely prefer a rematch, so I'm sure they'll focus on making sure Marik and I lose. However, I had to take Marik's motives into account. He probably wants to fight Yugi and defeat the Pharaoh, to kill him and take the Puzzle. If he's able to destroy all the spirits of the Shadow Items, he'll be unstoppable. So my plan has to succeed if this is going to work.

"Now, to determine who goes first. Each player will select one card from their decks and exclude it for the duration of the duel. The order of turns will be determined by the descending order of the attack points of the excluded monsters. So, duelists, choose wisely." Roland said.

I scanned through my deck. Jade Dragon was a card I didn't need, and with 2700 attack points, it would ensure that I would make the first move.

"Reveal your cards."

Yugi: "Feral Imp": 1300 ATK  
Kaiba: "Masked Beast Des Guardius" : 3300 ATK  
Marik: "Lekunga": 1700 ATK  
Scott: "Jade Dragon": 2700 ATK

"So, the move order is as follows: First, Seto Kaiba. Then, Scott Pegasus moves second. Third move goes to Marik Ishtar, and the fourth move is Yugi Moto." Roland said. "Now, hook your Duel Disk up to the monitor, and begin the duel!"

Yugi: 4000 L.P.  
Kaiba: 4000 L.P.  
Marik: 4000 L.P.  
Scott: 4000 L.P.

"I guess I go first!" Kaiba said. "I summon my Spear Dragon in Attack Mode!" A blue dragon with a sharp, long hook nose took to the field.

ATK: 1900

"I'll then set one card face-down, and end my turn." Kaiba said.

"Guess I'm up." I said. "I summon my Tidal Dragon, in Defense Mode!" A giant blue dragon took a defensive stance on my side of the field.

DEF: 2000

"I'll then set two cards face-down and give Marik a shot." I said.

"Let the fun begin." Marik said maniacally, drawing a card. "I summon Newdoria in Defense Mode!" A strange purple zombie-like creature appeared on the field, crouching.

DEF: 800

"I'll then set a card face-down and end my turn." he said.

"My move, then." the Pharaoh said. "I summon Gamma the Magnet Warrior, in Defense Mode!" A pink magnetic monster took a defensive stance to protect the Pharaoh.

DEF: 1800

"I'll then set one card face-down, and that's all for now."

"Back to me!" Kaiba drew his card. "I summon my Kaiser Sea Horse to the field, in Attack Mode!" A strange fish-like monster took an offensive stance next to Kaiba.

ATK: 1700

"Now, Spear Dragon, I command you to attack!" Kaiba declared. "Your target: Newdoria!" Spear Dragon released a tornado from its mouth.

Marik grinned. "You fool! Activate face-down card, Mirror Force!" A wall of glass appeared in front of Newdoria. "Now Kaiba's attack is reflected back at his monsters, destroying them!"

"Oh, really?" I chimed in, revealing my face-down card. "Not if Winds of Myth have anything to say about it!"

"You fool!" Marik said.

"Winds of Myth forces me to discard 1 Dragon monster from my hand." I said, discaring my Burst Flare Dragon. "In exchange, I'm able to cancel the effects of your Mirror Force, letting Kaiba's attack go through." Mirror Force disappeared.

"You'll pay for that." Marik growled.

"Oh, there's more." I mused. "Winds of Myth grants 500 attack points to any Dragon on the field. And I choose to increase the power of...Kaiba's Spear Dragon!"

Everyone gasped.

"What a waste, you fool." Marik said. "Newdoria is in Defense Mode, so my Life Points are protected."

"Oh, are they?" Kaiba and I asked simeltaneously as Spear Dragon's tornado struck Newdoria, destroying it.

Yugi: 4000 L.P.  
Kaiba: 4000 L.P.  
Scott: 4000 L.P.  
Marik: 2400 L.P.

Marik's platform began to rise. He stopped around halfway between the markers of 3000 and 2000.

"Interesting..." I mused.

"I see..." Marik said. "So, Spear Dragon can still inflict damage to a defending monster. Smart play, foolish mortal. But I have a special ability of my own; namely, that of my Newdoria!"

"Hmm?" I asked.

"When Newdoria is destroyed in battle, it destroys a monster on the field. So, Scott, since you were to insolent to get in my way, I'll teach you a lesson by destroying your Tidal Dragon." Marik said, laughing.

"I don't think so." I said, revealing my second face-down card. "Meet my Mythic Mirror Trap Card!"

"What?!" Marik gasped.

"Mythic Mirror activates when the effect of a card targets a Dragon I control. I can switch the target of the effect to another monster in play. Now, who to destroy..." I observed the field; my choice was obvious. "Spear Dragon!" Spear Dragon shattered as Kaiba gasped.

"That move made no sense!" I heard Mokuba yell out. "Why help my brother, then destroy his monster?!"

"I have my reasons." I said.

"Whatever." Kaiba said. "Now, Kaiser Sea Horse, attack Marik's Life Points directly!" Kaiser Sea Horse charged in, striking Marik, and sending him flying further up the tower, almost to the point where we couldn't see him anymore.

Yugi: 4000 L.P.  
Kaiba: 4000 L.P.  
Scott: 4000 L.P.  
Marik: 700 L.P.

Perfect. I had Marik right where I wanted him, and in my next turn, I'd wipe him out.

"You fools will pay for this!" he yelled.

"A little louder, Marik." I said. "We can't hear you from all the way up there!"

"Insolent mortal!" he spat pompously. "You don't know who you're dealing with!"

"I place two cards face-down and end my turn." Kaiba said.

"I'm up next, it seems." I said. "And I now activate a Spell Card, Call of Myth!" I inserted the card into my Duel Disk. "This card lets me revive a Dragon from my Graveyard in Defense Mode. So, I'll revive the Burst Flare Dragon I discarded for Winds of Myth!" A burning dragon appeared on my field, taking a defensive stance.

DEF: 200

"Next, I sacrifice both of my dragons, and call forth my Black-Eyes Gray Dragon!" I declared. My two monsters were englufed in the winds of sacrifice as a gigantic gray dragon stormed the field.

ATK: 2900

"Dragon, I command you to attack Marik's Life Points directly!" I commanded. "Let loose your Wave of Black Flames!" My dragon unleashed a stream of darkfire that sped towards Marik.

"Not so fast, Scott; Activate Attack Guidance Armor!" Kaiba said, revealing his face-down card. "Now, your Dragon's attack gets redirected at Yugi's Gamma The Magnet Warrior!"

A suit of armor appeared on Yugi's Magnet Warrior. However, Yugi seemed unphazed.

"Activate Trap, Seven Tools of the Bandit!" Yugi said. "This card negates Kaiba's Armor from redirecting Scott's attack. Therefore, Scott's Dragon will still be attacking Marik and not my Magnet Warrior."

The stream of black flames struck Marik, knocking him out of the duel. However, Yugi's Trap cost him Life Points as well, causing him to move upward.

Kaiba: 4000 L.P.  
Scott: 4000 L.P.  
Yugi: 3000 L.P.  
Marik: 0 L.P.

"I'll make you pay for this, Scott!" Marik spat. "And you, too, Pharaoh! Soon enough, I will destroy both of your spirits and send you into the shadows!"

"Whatever." I said. "I set one card face-down. That ends my turn."

"Back to me." Yugi said.

"Hold on, Yugi." Kaiba said. "Face-down card, go!" He revealed his Trap; Ring of Destruction. "My Ring of Destruction will destroy the monster wearing it. And I choose to destroy the Black-Eyes Gray Dragon!"

A ring clamped to the neck of my Dragon.

"Now we'll both lose 2900 Life Points!" I said.

"Not quite. Activate my other face-down card, Ring of Defense!" Kaiba said. A green ring appeared on my Dragon's neck. I knew I had to act fast.

An explosion occured. However, after it, my Dragon was still on the field.

Kaiba: 4000 L.P.  
Yugi: 3000 L.P.  
Scott: 1100 L.P.  
Marik: 0 L.P.

"Why didn't your Dragon get destroyed?" Kaiba asked.

"I activated my face-down card; Soul of Dragon's Will!" I said. "My Dragon is saved from destruction, but my Life Points, that's a different story. But now, you're able to summon a monster from your hand if it's Level 4 or lower."

"All right, then. I summon Blade Knight in Attack Mode!" A blue knight took to the field.

ATK: 1600

"Next, I activate the second effect of Soul of Dragon's Will!" I said. "I can set a Trap from my Deck face-down by either ditching a Dragon-Type monster in my hand, or 1000 Life Points. But there's a problem; I have no cards in my hand. So, I set this face-down, but I have to give up 1000 Life Points." A card appeared on my side of the field as my platform rose up.

Kaiba: 4000 L.P.  
Yugi: 3000 L.P.  
Scott: 100 L.P.  
Marik: 0 L.P.

"All right, if you'll let me continue my move..." Yugi mused. "I summon Big Shield Guardna in Defense Mode!" A warrior holding a large shield took to the field, taking a defensive stance.

DEF: 2600

"That ends my turn." he said.

"Back to me!" Kaiba said, drawing a card.

"Ah, ah, ah." I said, revealing the card I'd set with Soul of Dragon's Will. "I activate my face-down card, Storming the Skies!"

"What is that?!" Kaiba asked.

"I activate this card during your Standby Phase. You now select a Dragon-Type monster from your Deck and summon it. If you have nothing to summon, I take 1000 points of damage. Keep in mind, though, if that dragon you select has 5 or more stars, sacrifices are necessary." I said.

"All right, I'll sacrifice Kaiser Sea Horse, which acts as two sacrifices for creatures of light, and I'll summon my Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" A light shone in the tower as Kaiba's legendary dragon appeared on the field.

"There it is..." I said, grinning.

ATK: 3000

"Now, for Storming the Skies' second ability!" I said. "I draw 2 cards, and if they're Dragons, I can summon them directly to the field!" I drew 2 cards; ironically, they were 2 more copies of Black-Eyes Gray Dragons. "I suppose I got lucky; I summon 2 Black-Eyes Gray Dragons to the field in Attack Mode!" Two more Dragons joined my other one, for a full trio.

ATK: 2900 x2

"That doesn't matter, Scott! Even combined, your Dragons don't compare to mine! Go, Blue-Eyes! End this duel with White Lightning!" Kaiba commanded. His dragon unleashed a blast that destroyed all three of my dragons.

"Perfect..." I thought to myself.

Kaiba: 4000 L.P.  
Yugi: 3000 L.P.  
Scott: 0 L.P.  
Marik: 0 L.P.

"This duel is over!" Roland declared. "Marik Ishtar will face off against Scott Pegasus in the first match of the Battle City semifinals. Immediately following are Yugi Moto and Seto Kaiba in the second match."

"Are you sure about this?" I asked the Spirit.

"I have no choice." the Spirit replied. "It is the only way to ensure Marik's defeat in this tournament."

"I trust your judgement." I said. "I know that you know what you're doing..."

"I just hope this works..." he said.

The four platforms shot up to the top of the tower. Each of us exited our platforms, and I made my way over to Yugi.

"Yugi..." I said.

"Scott. You do realize the stakes of this match, don't you?" he asked.

"I wish I could say I do, but I really don't." I said. "This is far more dangerous for me than I thought it would be. But this isn't about me. This is about stopping Marik and saving the world." I then extended my hand. "I wish you the best of luck in your match against Kaiba."

He shook it. "I wish you the best of luck in your match against Marik, Scott." As he pulled his hand away, he noticed something that made him gasp. "Scott, this is...!"

"It's for the best." I said. "I know what I'm doing."

"But, Scott, if you...this is suicide!" he said.

I looked at him sternly. "The stakes are far too high to allow Marik to grow any more powerful. I have to ensure that he's stopped...even if I have to sacrifice myself in the process."

"Scott, you can't!" Yugi replied.

The Spirit of the Gauntlets took over at the same time as the Pharaoh took over Yugi. "Pharaoh, I swore eternal service to you those 5,000 years ago. I refuse to allow any enemy to defeat you."

"Well?" Marik asked, diverting our attention. "Are we going to duel, or are you two going to babble on incessantly about how you plan to defeat me? Not that you can..." He armed his Duel Disk.

The Spirit took a spot on the field opposite Marik. "We'll see about that, Marik!"

"Duel!"

Scott: 4000 L.P.  
Marik: 4000 L.P.

* * *

So, I'm sorry for the long delay between chapter, but I'm back. I hope this chapter made up for it...I tried my best to make it a good chapter.

Please review! I need reviews to stay afloat, here! D:

-Card Effects-

Tidal Dragon  
WATER  
Level 4  
Dragon/Effect  
ATK/1000  
DEF/2000  
When the battle position of this card changes (this includes Flip Summoning this card), return 1 card on the field to its owner's hand.

Winds of Myth  
Trap/Counter  
By discarding 1 Dragon-Type monster, negate the activation and effect of a Trap Card during the Battle Phase and destroy it. Then, 1 face-up Dragon-Type monster gains 500 ATK until the End Phase.

Mythic Mirror  
Trap/Counter  
Activate when your opponent targets a face-up Dragon-Type monster you control with a card effect. Switch the target of the effect to an appropriate target on the field.

Call of Myth  
Spell/Normal  
Special Summon 1 Dragon-Type monster from your Graveyard in Defense Position. That monster cannot change its battle position.

Burst Flare Dragon  
FIRE  
Level 2  
Dragon/Effect  
ATK/600  
DEF/200  
The Battle Damage this card inflicts to your opponent is doubled. When Battle Damage is inflicted to the controller of this card, Tribute this card and your opponent takes 1000 damage.

Black-Eyes Gray Dragon  
DARK  
Level 8  
Dragon  
ATK/2900  
DEF/2500

Soul of Dragon's Will  
Trap/Normal  
When you activate this card, your opponent can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower monster from their hand. Dragon-Type monsters you control are not destroyed until the End Phase. By paying 1000 Life Points, you can Set 1 Trap Card from your Deck face-down.

Storming the Skies  
Trap/Normal  
Activate during your opponent's Standby Phase. Your opponent cannot Normal Summon or Set during this turn. Your opponent can Normal Summon 1 Dragon-Type monster from their Deck. If your opponent does not Summon a monster, you take 1000 damage. If your opponent Summons a monster, pick up (not draw) 2 cards. If any of the picked up cards are Dragon-Type monsters, you can Special Summon them. Their effect(s) are negated.


	16. Duel in the Shadows! Scott vs Marik!

Chapter 16

(A/N: Going from the viewpoint of the Spirit here. He's the one dueling Marik, anyway.)

"Duel!"

Scott: 4000 L.P.  
Marik: 4000 L.P.

"Let the fun begin!" Marik said, drawing a sixth card. "I summon Drillago in Attack Mode!" A strange machine with multiple drills on its body stormed the field.

ATK: 1600

"Now I think it's time I bring this duel to the Shadow Realm!" he snickered. A large purple cloud enveloped the dueling arena as we were taken to the realm of darkness.

"You think the Shadow Realm scares me, Marik?" I said in response. "You forget; I too am a spirit of one of the ten Shadow Items. So I thrive off the dark energies of the Shadow Realm."

"You fool!" Marik cried out. "The very energies you claim to draw strength from will soon consume your soul and body!"

"We shall see, Marik. It's still your turn." I said.

"Fine!" he yelled, placing a card face-down.

"That's it?" I asked. "How pathetic."

"You will pay for mocking my shadow magic, you fool!" Marik said, drawing his Millennium Rod. As he did, our two Shadow Items began to float in mid-air, then flew across the arena, stopping at our feet. However, each of us possessed the other's Item.

"What's going on?" I asked, demanding an answer.

"You shall see soon enough, Spirit of the Gauntlets!" Marik said.

Each of our items began to glow as the Eye of Wdjat on both of our foreheads responded. A similar shape appeared below the Items.

"This will be quite the interesting Shadow Game, Spirit of the Gauntlets." Marik mused. "You see, as we both lose Life Points, the Items we posess will begin to slowly transport to the opponent's side of the field. Therefore, whoever wins this Duel will walk away with both Shadow Items."

"What good will the Gauntlets do you, Marik?" I asked.

"It's not what good it will do me, it's what it will do to you!" he declared evilly. "You see, normally, without the Gauntlets around your hands, you wouldn't be able to have a physical shape. The only thing tying you to existence right now is the Shadow Realm. Once this duel's over and I win, I will posess your Gauntlets! And I will use the Millennium Rod to destroy them!"

"That's insane!" I said. "You can't destroy the Gauntlets!"

"We will see, Scott." he said ever so intrigued. "Once I win the Millennium Rod back from you, you will witness firsthand the destruction of the legend of the Shadow Items."

I growled.

"Not only that, but once I defeat you, I will have stripped you of your Egyptian God Card, The Arbiter-Solencio! With it, and the power of the Winged Dragon of Ra under my control, I will crush the Pharaoh and rule the world!" He laughed maniacally.

"That won't happen." I declared. "It's my turn." I drew a sixth card.

"We have to ensure that he doesn't destroy the Gauntlets. If he does, not only will you cease to exist, but without all ten of the Shadow Items, we can't fulfill the prophecy, and all hope for the Pharaoh will be lost!" Scott said.

"I'll be sure to defeat Marik so that won't happen." I said to him. "Now, Marik." I declared. "I summon my Snow Spirit Dragon in Attack Mode!" A long blue dragon took to the field.

ATK: 1600

"Now, my Dragon, attack his Drillago now!" I said.

"You fool! Our monsters' strengths are equal! Therefore, this attack will destroy your Dragon as well!" Marik declared.

"I'm well aware of that, Marik." I said.

"Besides that, I have a Trap Card!" Marik said, revealing it. "Meet Fearful Earthbound!"

A large brown maw appeared below me, trapping me inside of it.

"This Trap Card costs you 500 Life Points each time you declare an attack, you fool!" Marik declared.

Our monsters collided. Both were destroyed in the blast.

Marik: 4000 L.P.  
Scott: 3500 L.P.

As I lost Life Points, the Eye of Wdjat on my head began to glow. I turned my attention to Marik's Millennium Rod, which began falling into the center of the Eye. As it did, a small piece of it appeared on Marik's side of the field.

"You see, as you lose Life Points, my Millennium Rod begins to return to me." Marik declared. "And when you lose them all, I'll gain control of your Gauntlets, and destroy them myself!" He laughed again.

"I place one card face-down, and that ends my turn." I said as a card appeared in front of me.

"Then let the torture continue!" he said, drawing another card. "Ah, yes. I summon Vampiric Leech to the field in Attack Mode!" A strange pink worm took to the field.

ATK: 500

"Attack him directly, my beast!" Marik said.

"Not so fast, Marik!" I said. "Activate Trap Card, Skies of Myth!"

"What?!" he asked.

"My Trap Card allows me to summon a Dragon monster from my hand, but it can't attack for two turns. So I'll intercept your Leech's attack with my Polymer Dragon!" A strange, small black dragon stormed the field.

400/1900

"That's fine!" Marik said. "You've been forced to summon your Dragon in Attack Mode, so my Leech can simply destroy it!"

"Are you sure about that?" I asked.

A second dragon appeared on the field, stepping in front of my Polymer Dragon and staving off Marik's Leech.

ATK: 2000

"What the-?!" Marik asked.

"Your attack has allowed me to summon the Substitute Dragon card from my hand!" I said. "Whenever you call an attack, I can force my Dragon to step in and take the attack. If my Dragon happens to be stronger than your monster--which, in this case, it is--then your monster is spared, and you only take half the damage."

Scott: 3500 L.P.  
Marik: 3250 L.P.

Suddenly, the Gauntlets began to sink into the Eye of Wdjat, and a portion of them appeared on my side of the field.

"You'll pay for this, insolent mortal." Marik said.

"We will see." I said.

"Now, my Leech has a special ability." Marik said. "By discarding 1 card from my hand, I can switch it to Defense Mode." He discarded a card as his Leech took a defensive stance.

DEF: 1200

"Now, I'll set a card face-down." Marik said. "Your move, Spirit."

"I draw." I said. "Now, for the ability of my Snow Spirit Dragon!" My Graveyard began to glow as my Dragon re-appeared on the field.

ATK: 1600

"But that monster was destroyed!" Marik said.

"Maybe so, but my Dragon can revive itself with its special ability!" I said. "And now, Marik, I have three monsters on the field!"

Marik gasped. "You're planning to summon your Egyptian God Card, aren't you?"

"I sacrifice my Polymer Dragon, my Substitute Dragon, and my Snow Spirit Dragon, and call forth this!" I placed the card on my Duel Disk as my monsters were enveloped in the winds of sacrifice.

"Grr...Solencio!" Marik growled. He then took a closer look at the field. "Wait...what's going on?! Where is Solencio?!"

"Whoever said I was going to be summoning my Egyptian God Card?" I asked, grinning. "The monster I've summoned is actually quite different from Solencio."

The shadows twisted as an enormous red dragon descended, roaring triumphantly upon coming into full view.

"Meet...Gigantus Dragon!" I declared.

ATK: 3500

"What the-?!" Marik said. "But what about your Egyptian God Card?"

"Marik...you fool." I said. "You assume I went into this duel attempting to even use my Egyptian God Card."

"What?!" he asked, enraged. "You mean-"

"That's right, Marik." I said. "The Arbiter-Solencio is no longer a part of my Deck!"

Everyone gasped.

"How can you possibly think about achieving victory without the use of your Egyptian God Card, you fool?!" Marik asked. "Without it, you're nothing!"

"Wrong, Marik." I said. "I don't need my Egyptian God Card to take you down. My Gigantus Dragon has enough power to wipe you out for good, and save all of mankind!"

"We will see, mortal." Marik growled.

* * *

Can the Spirit of the Gauntlets possibly win without the help of Solencio?

Why doesn't Scott have Solencio anymore? And what happened to it, anyway?

Find out in the next chapter!

(And please, PLEASE review!)

Card Effects:

Snow Spirit Dragon  
WATER  
Level 4  
Dragon/Effect  
ATK: 1600  
DEF: 800  
When this card is in your Graveyard, only once, you can Special Summon it. If this card is Special Summoned, it cannot declare an attack.

Skies of Myth (re-worked)  
Trap/Counter  
Activate when your opponent declares an attack. Special Summon 1 Dragon-Type monster from your hand in face-up Attack Position. If the Special Summoned monster is Level 4 or lower, it cannot declare an attack until your 2nd Standby Phase after this card's activation. Otherwise, the Special Summoned monster cannot declare an attack.

Polymer Dragon  
DARK  
Level 4  
Dragon/Effect  
ATK: 400  
DEF: 1900  
You can substitute this card for any 1 Fusion Material Monster. When you do this, the other Fusion Material Monster(s) must be the correct one(s). By Tributing this card and sending a monster(s) from your hand or your side of the field to the Graveyard, Special Summon 1 Dragon-Type Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck.

Substitute Dragon (re-worked)  
LIGHT  
Level 4  
Dragon/Effect  
This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. When your opponent declares an attack, you can Special Summon this card from your hand and declare it as the target of the attack. An opponent's monster that attacks this card is not destroyed as a result of the battle, and the Battle Damage inflicted to your opponent as a result of that battle is halved.

Gigantus Dragon  
FIRE  
Level 10  
Dragon/Effect  
ATK: 3500  
DEF: 3000  
You must Tribute 3 monsters to Tribute Summon this card. This card can attack all monsters your opponent controls once each. Spell and Trap Cards cannot be activated during the Battle Phase. The effects of all face-up Spell and Trap Cards are negated during the Battle Phase.


End file.
